The Only Thing That Matters
by 1upDawg
Summary: Love was once such an easy game to play- especially when your code dictates that it's what you do best. But the rules of the game have changed... Now, in a darker Litwak's arcade, one girl must find the strength within her to fight everything she is in her desperate struggle for survival. (UPDATE: Chapter 15 posted!)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Life sure goes by fast, doesn't it?

Believe me, I would know. I live for speed- it's what I used do every day. It's what lies at the very core of my being. It's a part of my shattered past that I simply can't seem to shake away, as much as I'd like to. For as luck would have it, that entire past was nothing but a big lie, and for fifteen long years I swallowed it like a jellybean.

I don't know why I bother keeping my head in that meaninglessness past of mine. I can't even say that my days of racing were particularly memorable. It was a natural talent of mine, but compared to the others I was always the black sheep. No matter how and why, I always seemed to end up as target practice for the others to use their power-ups.

But that wasn't important.

No, it wasn't about the fame, or the money, or the victory (well, at least the thought of it). It was the company of the others that I cherished each day. Racing meant everything to the others, but to me it was a hobby at best. The only thing that mattered to me was love- the company of friends, compassion, a warm pair of arms to sink into.

Love, speed, and cherries- the main ingredients that make up yours truly, Jubileena Bing-Bing.

It's funny how those two things were the world to me, and yet that world crumbled around me before even I could expect it. Life goes by fast, sure, but I feel as if I've lived an eternity during these past days of ruin. They came all at once, in a catastrophic torrent.

First, that Glitch. That miserable mistake who not only once again got it into her head that she was able to race, but this time she had somehow found a coin that got her on the board officially. Well, we all knew what needed to be done. We found her and decided to give her a taste of what would happen if she should ever hit the track. But did that stop her? No, of course not- if anything, it _encouraged_ her. Perhaps we should have been more accepting. Perhaps forcefully keeping her away from racing was the worst mistake I've ever made in my life.

We all knew things would go terribly wrong the moment she started racing, but never could we have guessed to _this_ degree- an entire race of virus-like bugs erupted from below our game's world and proceeded to do what I now know any virus does best- devour anything in its path. It was perfectly logical for us to turn to the king in this dark time. After all, we all served under him. We trusted him. He was the leader of the game- or so we thought. None of us expected him to be the true leader of these viral monstrosities.

At that point, there was only one thing we could do- run. Run for the safety of Game Central Station, with the knowing we would never see our home world again. King Candy, the man we trusted, who turned out to be in league with the Glitch, was really biding his time to unleash his pestilence upon the entire arcade.

I only wish I could have somehow seen through his little ruse. I wish I could have looked beyond my diminution and put a stop to him. But of course, by the time we all knew, no one could stop him.

Well, there was one who tried.

Wreck-It Ralph- a name now known to everyone in the arcade. How ironic that a former Bad Guy, this villain from Fix-It Felix Jr., would be remembered posthumously as the arcade's last great hero. Fate had brought him to our world, where he had succumbed to the wiles of that Glitch, and probably inadvertently helped her bring about her army of destruction. In one last desperate act, he gave his life to stop the impending takeover of the arcade.

But he was too late.

The world that he left behind quickly fell into ruin. In this sorry existence, I find myself conflicted- not wanting back the peace I thought I had, but not ready to face this realm of destruction.

At least when things seemed normal, holding on to a set of values was the easiest thing in the world. Ever since everything changed, it's never been so easy. Now I have to self-evaluate: I think to myself, "Well, what's important to you now?!" Racing is certainly out of the picture, not that I would necessarily welcome that back with open arms anyway. Cherries- well, I can't say that my love for cherries will ever go away, and I sure wouldn't have it any other way. But love? Can love, of all things, really stay a top priority in this fight for my own survival? Of course not- not according to my code, anyway, as it's what makes up the vast majority of it. But when the time comes, when I need to weigh my own survival against others- when that time comes, will I really be able to fight who I am?

I put the thought aside. Just as I have always done in the past, when the horrid idea of putting my live before someone else's lingers, I banish it from my mind.

Because right now, someone else's live is in danger.

_My little sister._

How can I hold on to this value of love, this seemingly useless principle, at a time where everything and everyone I've come to know has vanished? Because in spite of all that's happened, I still have someone to care for. Citrusella is everything that remains important to me, and we only have each other. She is my last true friend, my last glimmer of hope.

And now, as I wander through the desolate wasteland that was once my home, only one thing remains clear: My sister, that last shred of hope, is surely going to be ripped to shreds unless I find her and get her out of here.

It was foolish of her, of course, to want to return to Sugar Rush to retrieve her favorite teddy bear. Of course, it was just as stupid for me to dive in after her before the Surge Protectors, now busier than ever with the impending bug invasion, could seal the portal to the game.

As I wander what remains of the track, something catches my eye, and I run forward to get a glimpse, not believing. Yet sure enough, there it is, the starting gate. Everything looks so familiar, even in this mass of desolation. The finish line was still visible. Even most of the grandstands looked intact, albeit sans the candy inhabitants of this world. I tentatively approach the stand that bears my own name, with a faded red motif and a big number 5 at the top. I reach out my hand, then pull it back suddenly- you never know when you're going to have an unexpected encounter with a Cy-Bug, after all- then, with a reassured sense of safety, place it against the stand. I glance back at the starting line… In spite of all the lies, this place bears so many happy memories. It was where races began, fans cheered you on, and most importantly, your friends were there for you. And now I will never have that feeling again. I can't help myself- I sink to my knees, bury my face in my arms, and begin to sob.

It takes me a while to regain my composure, but eventually it happens. It was so overwhelming- this was the first time I had returned to the game since it had been debunked. For the longest time, I stare at my own stand, before suddenly, reality sets in, and I remember what brought me back to my home world in the first place. I spent too much time lingering in the past to remember the present- and the present is that Citrus's life is in grave danger.

I take off sprinting in the direction of our house- that's surely where she would have gone looking. I may be fast in a go-kart, but luckily I can hold my own on foot as well. I can also jump high- well, at least, according to my code. Seeing as I've yet to visit the world of _Mario Bros._, I've never had a chance to see what my jumping skills are capable of.

It doesn't take long before I reach the square. The first thing that catches my eye is the smoke coming from the stemlike chimney atop our cherry-shaped house. That can only tell me one thing- Citrusella was indeed there.

Cautiously, I pry the gingerbread door open. The inside of the house still seemed vibrant and cheerful, but against the bleak world outside, it only added to my uneasiness. I tiptoe into the living room, taking care not to attract the attention of any Bugs I might find inside. A fire had been stoked in the fireplace in the living room.

And there she was, just as I expected, her face glued to the nearby window, a little teddy bear dangling from her hand. She spots my reflection in the window, and whips her blue pigtails around in excitement. "Jubi?! You came back for me!"

I rush forward, but her arms are already around my waist before I can extend mine. "Of course I came back, you little stinker." I throw my arms around her and hoist her up so her face meets mine. "Don't you _ever_ scare me again like that, okay?" I tell her, before I release her and she buries her face in my chest.

With the little stuffed bear in her arms, Citrusella follows my joyfully back to the portal to Game Central. We make great progress- in fact, the Rainbow Bridge to the portal is right on the horizon.

That's when we hear the sound.

Citrus hears it first. A buzzing sound, followed by an increasingly loud rumble from beneath the ground. The one sound you never want to hear in a game occupied by Cy-Bugs.

"Citrus…" I whisper nervously, as she backs into my side.

All at once, the ground behind us splits open. At least half a dozen Bugs emerge from the gaping hole, their eyes red with menace.

"Citrus, go," I tell her.

"Jubi, no! You can't-"

"I said go! Get out of here, Citrus! NOW!" I yell as I scoop up a nearby pebble and, with all my strength, pelt it at one of the Bugs. It emits an enraged cry of pain, and as it and its companions close in on me, out of the corner of my eye I can see Citrus making a beeline for Game Central Station.

Ever since the Glitch caused this whole mess, I can't say that I didn't know this day would come. Of course, I can't really say that I haven't had a great life, either, so it was easy to accept it.

And here, as I am being torn apart, the strangest thing happens. The Bugs that are attacking me suddenly begin to wail in pain as if their very code was coming apart. And, indeed, before my eyes, they slowly begin to disintegrate into a mass of bits and pixels. As the remaining bugs flee into the distance, my bruised, battered body sinks to the ground, and, just as I begin to wonder if I'm really not alone in this game, a pair of hazel-brown eyes and a matt of jet-black hair come into view inches above my face.

_The Glitch._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_How did she find me?_

As I lay slowly losing consciousness, dozens of questions went off at once in my mind. What was she doing here? How has she managed to survive? And- perhaps the most troubling- _what made her choose to save me?_

Me, of all people, who for fifteen long years had antagonized her into submission. In truth, I always regretted my actions, because deep down, I always sensed a part of her that simply wanted to belong with us. In the end, my own sense of belonging always won out- I would rather have the company of the other racers than hers. Of course, after everything that she did to our game, I'd take the company of those Bugs that nearly killed me over the Glitch, who now stands over me with a curious expression on her face.

Perhaps she sensed this, as she started to back away when my eyes locked onto hers. Yet at the same time, maybe over those years of bullying her, maybe she sensed my sympathetic side as well. As crazy as it sounds, I could almost swear before passing out that she spoke to me, saying, "Hey, are you alright?"

I don't have time to answer her question. I have a million more that I want answered too but I never get the chance to ask as the world around me goes black.

…

The first thing I'm aware of when I come to is the sharp pain in my arm. I glance at it weakly, then instinctively I tug at the needle that has been inserted into my elbow. But that only makes the pain in my arm worse and I jolt upright in agony, and that only makes the pain worse everywhere else.

I sink back into the bed I've been placed in, a battered, bruised mess. I take in my surroundings- I'm in a small room with lines of cots in rows, adjacent to a small door. Immediately I realize where I am- this must be the makeshift hospital in Game Central that was established for victims of the Bug fallout. But how did I end up here? Why didn't I end up dying? Those Bugs would have killed me for sure. And then the Glitch…

And that's when I remember everything. How she had been following me the whole time, how she destroyed the Bugs, how she looked at me face to face in those last brief moments of consciousness. The questions come floating back with the memories as well. But now that I'm here, now that I'm safe, one lingers more so than any of the others: could it be that she brought me here herself?

No, it couldn't be. Not the selfish Glitch. She would never do such a thing for anyone but herself. The idea was ridiculous- funny, even- and yet, I can't help but toy with the idea that that might have just happened.

My train of thought bombards me with a barrage of questions when suddenly, the door flings open, and a short stocky man in blue enters. I bolt upright again, and the pain floors me once more.

"Easy, easy!" the man says in a clear, reassuring voice. "We don't want you to exert yourself now, do we? Not after a Bug attack like that, no siree, no. I've never seen someone young as yourself walk away from an attack like that." There's a pause, and then the sensation of cold metal against my side. Instantly, a relieving feeling hits me as the pain drains from my arms. "You're a lucky gal, you know that?" the man inquires before glancing me in the eyes. As he does, his blue cap, emblazoned with two giant letter F's, falls off his face and lands in my lap. I try to reach for it, but my arms have turned to jelly.

"Oh don't worry, I got it," he tells me as he whips the cap off of my lap and twirls it in the air. The cap lands perfectly on his head. I can only watch as he pokes my body in various places with some kind of hammer. As if by magic, the pain goes away, but it leaves behind a lack of control of my arms and legs.

After a short while, the man withdraws his hammer. "Well I guess that oughta do it," he says cheerfully. "Looks like you'll be just fine. But you'll need to get some sleep before your strength comes back. You'll be cleared for release by then anyway. On your way out, just tell them Felix saw you. You're gonna be okay, I'm sure of it. You understand?"

I nod. But I don't understand. I want to know what motivated that Glitch to bring me back to safety. And after all that's happened, I'm definitely not sure of anything. The only thing I think I can be sure of as I drift into an uneasy sleep is that, somehow, Vanellope Von Schweetz just saved my life.

…

Tapper's used to be a favorite hangout of mine. Usually I was too busy racing or baking to go, however, so it was always a treat to take time off to explore the other worlds in the arcade. But Tapper's was always my favorite because it was where the characters from countless other worlds would congregate, and the bar room's big stage made it the best place to catch the arcade's best shows. Sometimes there'd be concerts, or contests, or minigames. Strange though it may seem, a 12-year old like myself could never get enough of Bingo night.

Every once in a while, though, there'd be a fighting match, complete with an onstage faux boxing ring. I never particularly cared for these- I'm never been a big fan of fighting. I believe that for every problem, every argument, there is always a diplomatic, peaceful way out.

So when I was last at Tapper's and there was a boxing match going on, I didn't think much of it then- I was just hoping to pass the time with a cherry colada. But after all that's happened recently, I remember that fight in full detail. It was between a new challenger in the ring, Striker (who at the time was fresh from saving the President from ninjas) and none other than the undisputed champion of the French division of the W.V.B.A., Glass Joe. With nothing better to do then sip on my colada, I decided to watch the match for a bit. Given Joe's 1-99 KO record, the fight wouldn't last long anyway.

I took a seat near the back of the bar. In front of me a pair of fighters from _Street Fighter _were bickering amongst themselves.

"You bet on him _again?!_" Cammy grumbled. "Bison, are you crazy? He's lost fifty times in a row now!"

"Exactly!" M. Bison sneered back. "Which will mean all the more money we'll make when he finally does win! This time, he's got it for sure!"

The bickering was beginning to get annoying, so I inched away from the two Street Fighters. And that's when I noticed him- all the way in the back of the bar by himself, gripping a root beer in his oversized hands.

I had never noticed him before. I knew of him from the other Bad-Anon members that came to the bar, always complaining about the requests to join them that he always turned down each time. Of course, if I knew what would happen to him in the coming weeks, I'd have surely warned him about how dangerous that Glitch was, that she couldn't be trusted. But that night, there was something in his face that suggested he needed someone to talk to, so I timidly approached him.

"Um… hello, Ralph," I stammered.

The 643-pound giant glanced down at me. "Oh, hey kid," he said flatly. "I've never seen you before. You got a name?"

"Jubileena," I answered nervously.

"Jubileena," he repeated. "I guess you must be one of those brats from that _Sugar Rush _game over by the Whac-a-mole."

"Yup, that's right," I said. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if-"

"You could cheer me up?" he finished. "Look, kid, I hate to sound rude, but I don't think there's anything that could cheer me up today. Thanks for trying, though, I guess."

"You're welcome," I said before walking away. I didn't understand why he could possibly be in such a bad mood. How ironic that I wouldn't understand until weeks later, until it was too late- for him.

I turned my attention back to the ring just in time to witness Striker land a KO blow on Glass Joe to win the fight. With the match over, the spectators- including a grumbling Bison- began filing out of the bar. For a moment, I watched a sullen Wreck-It Ralph take his leave, shuffling out of the bar dejectedly. I thought about following him, but he'd made his point- he wasn't after any company that night.

Instead, as the bar closed I watched Glass Joe get up after suffering yet another loss. Poor Joe, always a punching bag for up-and-coming opponents, always the first to hit the canvas. I always felt sorry for him. And in light of recent events, it's a safe bet that he didn't last long when the Bugs first began their invasion.

…

And here I am now, staring at the sealed entrance to Tapper's, recalling that distant memory. I reach my hand to touch the portal, as if that would somehow bring back every happy memory from that place. I know it's a pointless gesture, of course. With the portal sealed off there's no way I could return there now.

Tapper's was among the first of the games in the arcade to be taken over, and Pac-Man, Frogger, and BurgerTime soon followed. Every day, it seems, the invasion hits a new game, and the portals are sealed away for safety. Of course, that's the least of our problems- we know it's only a matter of time before Mr. Litwak returns from his vacation, discovers his entire arcade has been sabotaged, and pulls the plug on every last game.

I decide I want nothing more to do with these memories, and head off. I'm not quite as up to speed as I once was since the Bug attack. But at least I can move around once more. I take in the sight of the overcrowded hovel that was once Game Central Station- filled with many now-homeless characters reduced to beggars- and wish, remembering that night at the bar, I could have stopped all this from happening. Suddenly I know what I need to do- I need to find Citrusella, and tell her everything that happened last night.

Jubileena Bing-Bing, the ever-caring cherry lover with a need for speed- that's what the code calls me, anyway. And what do I call myself? A gullible fool who, somehow, owes her very life to a mere Glitch.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Game Central Station never used to be the nightmare that it is now. This entire hub, once buzzing with life and activity, now resonated with an air of gloom. There had always been homeless characters in the arcade (poor Q*Bert, his game was unplugged long before the Bugs first invaded), but never on a scale such as this. And of course, when Litwak would eventually return to find his arcade in turmoil, each and every game would be unplugged for good, and those that remained would find themselves cast down into this hopeless place.

Even still, while Game Central may no longer have the pleasant atmosphere it once had, without question it's the safest place in the arcade- in fact, it's the only safe haven here anymore. The entire team of Surge Protectors in our Power Strip have made sure of that- they've set up living accommodations, eating quarters, and the best defenses in the arcade. I can see why they would want to take that extra measure to keep us safe, but their defenses aren't really necessary. Bugs pass through all the time, but their sights are set on the other games in the arcade, not on us. They'd have to be looking rather hard to stumble upon the new bunkers set up for us beneath Game Central Station.

But not even the Surge Protectors can stop the invasion from spreading to other games. Day by day, more and more game's fall under the Bugs' influence. It's been four days now since the epidemic began, and now only a handful of games remain free of their control- _Bad Dudes, The House of the Dead, Street Fighter,_ and some other game that was only just plugged in last week. I don't remember it's name- I only know various tidbits about it from the others in the arcade. Someone even suggested that the Bugs actually originated from that game.

As I make my way back to the bunkers at the far end of Game Central, I'm approached by dozens of characters without a game- weak and weary, desperate, some begging for food, some too heartbroken to bother to ask. A zombie from Ghosts N' Goblins lurches out at me unexpectedly, a ravenous look in his eyes. Without a second thought, I pull a Gold Coin out of my pocket and plunk it into the creature's outstretched hands. I didn't know if it would really attack me or not, but seeing as I was almost eaten by Cy-Bugs yesterday, I'd rather be safe then sorry. Besides, it's not like I'd be using those coins in any Random Roster Races anytime soon.

The path to the living quarters within the bunkers takes me through a narrow hall flanked by several large rooms that I can only guess are used for conferences. As I head for the residence rooms to rendezvous with Citrusella, I can hear mutterings coming from one of them- there must be a meeting inside. I'm not too sure what's going on, but then I hear Bowser's signature roar, and it becomes clear: Bad-Anon is meeting inside.

"DON'T SAY THAT!" the Koopa King growled from behind the door of the conference room. "After everything that happened to him, after everything he did to save us? How can you say such a thing about Ralph? That guy was the bravest man I ever knew."

"But again, like I've tried to point out," said a voice that resembled Clyde's, "How can we be so sure about what happened? None of us were there. And from what I could get out of Felix Jr., there are theories going around that _he_ caused the invasion in the first place!"

The suggestion is met with angry yells from the other Bad-Anon members, and I can't blame them- if I were there with them I'd join right in. How could Clyde, the leader of Bad-Anon, of all people, ever believe that Wreck-It Ralph, the man who gave his life for the arcade, was to blame for all this? Curiously, I press my ear against the conference room door as Clyde attempts to calm the others down.

"Hey now, hey now! Look, I'm not saying that's a fact, okay, everyone? It's just a theory. And with the arcade in this condition, it's a possibility we just can't overlook."

"Well, nuts to that!" Bowser sneered. "You can live by your little theories all you want, Clyde, but as for me, I'm sticking with what I know is the truth, and the truth is that Ralph gave his all to save us. Besides, I've been doing this job longer than anybody-"

"Oh really?" Clyde retorted. "You're the most experienced Bad Guy in the room even though _my _game came out years before yours? Listen to yourself, Bowser."

"Bowser's right," M. Bison joined in. "That man was only one of us for a day, but he was the greatest of us all! He's a legend! You should hear the stories they tell about him in Game Central. They say he stood up to Turbo before he invaded the arcade. They say his last words were the Bad Guy Affirmation."

"Is that what you've heard?" retorted Clyde. "Well, what _I've _heard- from a significant minority, mind you- is that Ralph started the invasion. Again, guys, I'm not telling you what to believe. As your leader, I'm just giving you a possibility to consider-"

"Well, consider _this_, Ghost Boy," said Bison, raising his voice. "Maybe we don't want you as our leader anymore!" The other Bad-Anon members punctuate this remark with yells of agreement.

That's when the fight begins. The shouts and yells of the group's many Bad Guys resonate through the hollow halls of the bunkers. The sound is terrifying, but at the same time I want to know more- I want to know these theories about Ralph and how the invasion started. I lean against the doorknob for support, but suddenly the door slides open and I fall headfirst into the room.

Instantly, everything falls silent. The sight of a Sugar Rusher was obviously disconcerting for Bad-Anon, a group that had lost its last greatest member to an attack staged in that game.

An awkward silence passes before Clyde clears his throat. "Ms. Bing-Bing! What's going on? Is there something wrong?"

I pick myself up off the ground and take in the sight of the Bad-Anon members, all with puzzled looks on their faces. I suddenly want to tell them everything I know about Ralph- how I met him in Tapper's, how I failed to save him.

But I can't- all I can tell them is "Um… no? Nothing's wrong. I… I guess I'll just go now…"

The still-dumbstruck Bad Guys watch as I close the door behind them. Then I turn and run down the hallway- running because I'm ashamed that I let this happen to Ralph, because I feel stupid for not being able to say it in front of Bad-Anon, and most importantly, because I want to see Citrusella, the only person in the world who could possibly understand everything that's going on in my troubled mind.

…

The living quarters in the bunkers below Game Central are utilitarian at best. With their metal walls, dull, dim colors, and utter lack of whimsy, they're big a step down for those of us from Sugar Rush. But at the moment, they're the only home we've got.

When I arrive at the row of rooms for the Sugar Rushers, Taffyta's door is open. I stick my head in the room and find her sitting on her cot, brushing her hair.

"Hey, Taff."

At the sound of my voice, she whips her head around. "Oh hey, Jubes," she says. "I heard you had a Bug encounter! Your sister's been worried sick!"

"Yeah, I just got out of the hospital," I say. "Have they found any of the others?"

"Still no sign of Minty, Crumbelina, or Adorabeezle," Taffyta sighed. "And it's been four days now, so I doubt if they've managed to last this long… Oh, but Snowanna managed to make it out yesterday, so she's alive. And Citrusella, of course, thanks to you."

"Great," I tell her. "Well, I guess I'd better go find her."

I pass several more rooms for the other racers before reaching the door labeled, "Jubileena B. B." When I open the door, Citrusella is crouching next to my cot, clutching her little bear in a death grip. The worried look on her face vanishes at the sight of me.

"JUBI!" she screams as she rushes me for another hug. She sends me down to the floor, completely knocking the wind out of me as she showers me in kisses.

"Citrus!" I shriek, laughing. "You're gonna send me right back to the hospital!"

"Oh, Jubi," she whimpers in between kisses, "I was so worried…"

"Don't worry Citrus," I whisper, stroking her blue hair. "I'm here now. I'm here."

…

"Hey Jubi?" Citrus asks as the two of us lie in our cots, trying restlessly to fall asleep. "Didn't you say earlier you wanted to ask me something?"

"Well, yes, but…" I hesitate. Citrusella is the most understanding person I've ever met, but even this might sound strange. "It's about… about Vanellope."

"The Glitch?" Citrus looks at me with wide eyes. "She's dangerous, Jubi. Everyone says she can't race or be trusted or anything, or she might destroy our game. You didn't run into her back in Sugar Rush when I left, did you?"

"Well… actually, I did, but-"

"Jubi…" Citrus sounded horrified. "You might have caught her Glitch disease! What were you thinking?!"

"Something happened that night," I tell her. "After you left and those Cy-Bugs attacked me, she showed up and…" I try to remember the whole scene. "…And she stopped them from killing me! And then… after I blacked out… I think she brought me back to the Sugar Rush portal! Citrus…" Again I hesitate, because what I'm about to say must sound absurd to her. "…I think she saved my life."

"That can't be true, Jubi!" Citrus cried. "She tried to kill us all! Everyone in Sugar Rush is sure of it! I bet if you asked her, even _she'd_ be sure of it!"

And suddenly I know exactly what I have to do. "Citrus," I say. "I've been thinking… I want to go back to Sugar Rush and find her, and figure out for myself what happened. I'm not sure she's as dangerous as everyone says she is."

"Jubi, no, you can't," she tells me. "Don't you remember what she did to Wreck-It Ralph? I'm not letting you end up like him. I don't want to lose you again…"

I don't respond; don't bother telling her everything Clyde had said about Ralph. I don't know what really happened to him, or to me when the Bugs attacked. The only person who knows the truth is the Glitch, and I'm more determined then ever to find it out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As Citrusella sleeps, I set my plan to return to Sugar Rush and find Vanellope by changing the time on her cherry clock. It would take hours for her to discover I was missing. The last thing I want, after all, is for her to worry. She seemed understandably adamant that I shouldn't go back, after what had happened to us yesterday. Still, I know in my heart that it must be done. And so I vow that no matter what happens, I will keep myself safe, for her sake.

Cautiously I stick my head out the door. The bunkers are under curfew, so normally you'd expect to see a Surge Protector or two patrolling the halls, keeping us in and the bugs out. Luckily, this happened to be their break time, and thus our Protector had fallen asleep at his post.

I tiptoe over to the Protector and begin to rifle cautiously through his jacket, looking for the key to reopen the portal to Sugar Rush. After a moment of sifting through every pocket, trying to distinguish each key in the dim light, I pull out a small key on a chain labeled "SR".

Without warning, the Surge Protector chooses this moment to begin to stir. Startled by his sudden movement, I let go of the key, and in a matter of milliseconds, catch it by the chain with my teeth. The key hovers within an inch of the Protector's nose as he stretches, yawns, and rolls onto his side to continue his nap.

_Looks like I did it after all_, I think only too soon. I'm built for speed, which means that when I have to go slow- which is almost never the case- I'm at my clumsiest. So of course I just _had_ to trip and fall while trying to tiptoe out of the hall. As I go down, the key flies out of my grip and lands with a clang on the metal floor of the bunker.

That gets the Surge Protector up. I begin crawling to the key as he blinks, glances in my direction, then spots the key inches away from my outstretched hand. "Hey! What are you doing with that key?!"

Instinct kicks in as I charge at the key on all fours, snatch it off the ground, and take off running. I don't have time to sit and wait for the Surge Protector to call in backup.

I reach the second level of the bunkers just as an alarm sounds. As I catch my breath I can hear the clamor from several Surge Protectors coming from below, and I take off running again. They're kidding themselves if they think they can keep up with a Sugar Rusher. But that doesn't mean I can stop moving if I'm going to open the portal in time.

Finally I reach the main floor of Game Central Station- just as derelict and desolate as it ever has been these past few days. I don't stop running until I reach the entrance to Sugar Rush. Just as I jam the key into the slot on the door, a wave of Surge Protectors emerges from the bunkers.

"There she is!" yells one. "Grab her!"

With all my strength I give the key a firm twist, and the door slides open. Instantly, three large Cy-Bugs fly out, and the Surge Protectors stop dead in their tracks. As they busy themselves with fighting off the oncoming Bugs I slip through the door and into the portal, which closes behind me.

"Time to find that Glitch."

…

_Why can't things ever work out?!_

I take out my frustration on a chunk of rock candy, kicking it and watching it roll away in the dust. For what feels like hours I've been alone, yet again trapped in this nightmare that was once my home. I'm mad because I thought I had been prepared for everything- I'd completely thought out how I was going to break out of Game Central and escape to Sugar Rush. But what was I thinking- that Vanellope would just be _waiting_ for me on the other side with a box of chocolates?!

Of course not- instead, I'm all on my own. That's not an altogether bad thing- at least there haven't yet been any more Bugs. _They only come out at night_, I remember hearing from somewhere in the arcade. _They must be burrowing underground to escape the daylight._

The thought of being lost forever in this candy-coated nightmare starts to get to me. I realize that if I'm not found, I might die out on my own in here. Normally you'd just respawn if that happened, but Cy-Bug attacks are fatal in any circumstance. If you don't die from the initial attack, their very bite can corrupt your code, and in serious cases, it's only a matter of time before you fade away in a flurry of symbols and megabits.

I remember my promise to Citrusella, and suddenly I stop. I told her I was there for her, and I'd made up my mind never to leave her again. I can only think of how worried she must be for me down in the bunker, and the thought of that makes me forget all about Vanellope. No matter what happens, I have to keep my sister safe.

I take a shortcut past Diet Cola Mountain, one of the few landmarks in Sugar Rush that has somehow remained intact. On the horizon, as the Rainbow Bridge and portal to Game Central come into view, I take off running, only to trip over a small hole in the ground. As my body hits the ground for a second time today, I let out a cry of pain.

From beneath the hole comes a loud, deep, angry buzzing sound, like a million angry wasps. I don't have time to think about the mistake I've just made- instinct takes over, and I take off running again as the hole expands and a stream of Cy-Bugs comes shooting out like a geyser. Now I'm more worried than ever for Citrusella, who is about to nearly lose her sister for the second time in a row to a Bug attack.

But wait… the last time this happened… Vanellope saved me! Didn't she? Surely she wouldn't let these bugs kill me… Surely she would come to my aid like last time… Right?

I'm running as fast as I can, but the Bugs are easily gaining on me and I know it's only a matter of time before I'm Bug chow. I give up on simply sprinting for Game Central Station and begin running all over the place, anything to help to lose the bugs. Eventually, even I lose track of where I'm going, and before I know it I crash headfirst into Diet Cola Mountain. My head starts swimming, and the only thing I can think of is the last shred of hope I have left.

_Vanellope will come… Vanellope will come…_

But all I can do is drag myself off the ground, back away from the approaching Bugs, and embrace the harsh reality that the Glitch won't be saving me this time.

Or so I thought- All at once I have the sensation of being grabbed by the arm, then being tugged backwards… _into the mountain?_ The sensation in my arm disappears, and I sink to my knees, relieved at having somehow escaped death once again. Before I can even wonder where I am or how I got here, a sudden, all-too familiar voice finds my ears.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't for Jubileena again. Welcome to my home, chump!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_I know that voice…_

As I sit up, panting heavily and thankful to be alive, I take in my surroundings. This was indeed a part of Sugar Rush I had never seen before- it seemed to be some sort of rock candy cave. I'm looking for a way out when suddenly a hand taps me on the shoulder. I jump away in shock and brace for another Bug attack, but instead find myself looking up at an all too familiar face… _Vanellope's face._

"Nice of you to drop in," she said snarkily. "Too bad ya missed the party."

There was a stern look in her hazel eyes, as if she might attack me. Given everything she's done to me and the rest of the game, I wouldn't put it past her. Yet at the same time, for some reason she saved me barely a day ago, and I want to know why.

"You must really love this place, huh, Jubes?" Vanellope went on. "Well, ya shouldn't have come back. I've had enough trouble staying in one piece on my own. If I gotta take care of you now, too, then we're gonna have problems."

I remember our last encounter, when I lay losing consciousness with a zillion questions on my mind as Vanellope watched over me. I want all of them answered here and now but as I gaze into her eyes, I can only bring my mind to say one thing to her.

"You… you saved my life."

"Wouldn't be the first time," she grimaced. "Next time I get to save your butt from a buncha overgrown bugs, a simple 'thank you' would do. Now, move yer molasses so's I can give ya the grand tour!"

I pick myself up off the ground and follow her through the dark tunnel. As we round a sharp bend to the right a light appears in the distance.

"Ooh, you're gonna love this!" Vanellope says before vanishing into the light.

_Is this really happening? _I think to myself as I follow her through the light and into a large, chasmic room. The light, as it happened, emanated from a boiling lake of hot soda in the center of the chamber. On either side of the soda lake were two ramps that appeared to be hastily made out of wafer cookies.

_Diet Cola Hot Springs_, reads a nearby sign, _Watch out for falling Mentos_. I look up and take in the massive stalactites of Mentos that dangle precariously from the ceiling. _If all those Mentos were to come down… _the thought is so chaotic I banish it from my mind.

"What is this place?"

"I had a feeling you'd be wondering that," says Vanellope as she reappears by my side. "Years ago I found that secret opening into Diet Cola Mountain, and then I found this hot spring! Oh yeah, but don't touch it, unless you like fried cherries.

Secret opening? "Wait… we're _inside the mountain?_'

"Yup," she says nonchalantly. "And that…" she says, gesticulating towards a shabby-looking campsite near the wall, complete with a pile of candy wrappers that must have served as a bed, "…would be my home. Yeah, it's not much compared to those fancy-schmancy homes of yours down in the square, but it's all I got."

I take in everything from the interior of the mountain to Vanellope's sad little home against the wall, and suddenly I lose it. "Vanellope… How could you _live_ like this? Why would you go and just seal yourself away?!"

Vanellope gives me a cockeyed look. "Well, whaddaya expect, Jubes? What was I _supposed _to do- just come out and pretend that I could actually live a normal life like you? Or your sister? Or… or _Taffyta?!_" She says the name disgustedly, as if the mere thought of the strawberry-themed racer sickened her.

I clear my throat. "For your information, Taffyta happens to be a great leader and a very kind person."

"Is that so?" asks Vanellope in a mock inquisitive voice. "Sounds like _you've_ never been pushed in the mud before."

I feel a twinge of guilt as I glance back at her. "So why did you save me, then? After everything I've done to you?"

"Well, did you expect me to just sit there and watch ya die?" Vanellope asks. "Besides, you and all your other friends never treated me fairly, but what if it was a matter of life and death? I mean, if it was me being attacked by all those Bugs, you'd have stepped in to save me, right?"

I hesitate because, honestly, I'm not sure just how I would answer the question. This must occur to Vanellope, too, because she continues, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, it's a good thing I can do _this_." And with that she glitches away from me and reappears at her pile of candy wrappers.

I stare at her, both amazed and repulsed by her glitching, and only when she snaps "Keep staring, I might do a trick," do I hastily glance away.

"I'm sorry," I mutter angrily, still looking away from her. "I only came back so I could learn what made you decide to help me, not so you could be… rude to me."

Vanellope scowls. "Yanno, you're not exactly great company either, but I guess I can't complain. Matter of fact, you're the first company I've ever had over. Well, not counting _Stinkbrain_…"

"Who?"

"That big, heavy-handed diaper-baby Ralph."

Of course she had had company here before, of course she had known Wreck-It Ralph. After all, it was she who had led the redheaded Bad Guy astray and helped him inadvertently start the entire Bug invasion- so says Taffyta and everyone else from home.

Vanellope leans across the side of her makeshift bed and sighs deeply. "I shoulda given him back his stupid medal while I had the chance. Otherwise none of this would ever have happened. I kinda miss him."

My look of curiosity from her glitching vanishes, to be replaced with one of utter disgust. "You miss him, do you?" I mutter.

"What did you say?" asks Vanellope.

"You MISS him, do you?!" I say, my voice rising. "He was that useful, was he? After everything he did for you, after all he did to help you wreck our game, Vanellope? Not to mention the entire rest of the arcade?!"

"Jubi, take it easy, I d-" Suddenly Vanellope's eyes widen with fear. "Wait. What did you say about the rest of the arcade?"

"Well, if you think things are bad here in Sugar Rush, you should see what's happened to Game Central!" I shriek. "We're living underground, Vanellope! We're all living in hiding because the Bugs are spreading to every single game! People are losing their homes each day, Vanellope! And it's all _your _fault!"

Vanellope's face contorts with anger. "Oh, it's all _my _fault? Why is that, Jubes? Is it cause I thought maybe, just _maybe_, I could try for myself the one thing no one else said I could do? Not even you?! It's my fault for being… myself?"

Another pang of guilt hits me, and an awkward silence ensues.

"Maybe I _should_ have just let you die back there," she scowls. "Maybe we'd both be better off that way."

"How can you _say _that?!" I am angrier now then I ever have been in my fifteen years of being plugged in. "No one needs to die! Not me, not the others, and not Ralph! Tell me Vanellope," as I suddenly grab hold of her, "why did you save _me_? Why not _HIM_? He was the only friend you'll ever know and he stood up for you, and you let him die!"

"You think I let him die?" Vanellope shoots back. "You think I never tried to save him? You think he died for me, or you, or the whole stupid arcade?!" Vanellope leans halfway out of her bed, and looks me in the eye.

"You want the truth?" she hisses. "Well, now you're gonna get it: This whole invasion was all Ralph's fault. All he ever cared about was getting back his precious medal, and he crashed this whole game for it. He didn't die trying to save the arcade, all he was trying to do was undo the mess he'd already started. You can go around blaming other people for your problems, Jubi, but like it or not, that's the truth."

Paralyzed by her words, I sit in silence for the longest time, letting them sink in.

"No it's not…" I whisper, barely audible.

"What?" asks Vanellope.

"No… it's… NOT!" I scream at her. "How am I supposed to believe any of that? Why should I trust you, after everything you did to our game? I don't know what to believe anymore, but there's three things I know for certain: The arcade is doomed, Wreck-It Ralph was the bravest hero we'll ever know, and you're _nothing_ but a liar and… and a…"

Vanellope's eyes narrow into furious slits. "Go on. Finish it. I _DARE _you."

"…A _GLITCH_," I finally spit at her. _And that's all you'll ever be, _I finish in my head.

Vanellope leaps out of her bed, and before I have time to do or say anything she is upon me. She tackles me to the floor of the cave, pins my hands down firm, and looks at me with a savage expression on her face.

"Say that again," she sneers, her voice deadly, "and I'll rip those little red pigtails of yours off of yer head."

I brace for an impeding blow from Vanellope, but it doesn't come. Instead, she stares me down for a long while, sighs deeply, and releases my arms.

Vanellope glitches away from me as I pick myself up off the ground once more and teleports back to the foot of her bed, watching over me like a hawk. She still has that same stern look from before, but something seemed different about it this time.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Vanellope." I say, breaking the silence.

Vanellope doesn't answer, and as I timidly approach her, I can see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Vanellope?" I ask her.

Vanellope turns away. "Apology accepted," she growls. "Now get out."

"Vanellope, please! I- I didn't mean it, really, I-"

"I said GET OUT!" she screams as she wheels around to face me, tears streaming down her face. "I've had just about enough of you! And I never want to see you, or Taffyta, or any of your friends ever again! NOW GET OUT! And don't come back!"

I don't need to be told again- without hesitation I turn and walk out of the room, leaving Vanellope to cry alone. And now I'm crying too, because in spite of everything that she may have done to me, I know I've just done to her something much, much worse.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_What did I just do?!_

In my state of emotional turmoil, I pause my sobbing and let the question sink in.

_ Okay, self, you want to know what I've done?_ I think. Because in this moment, I have done something sickeningly satisfying, but completely stupid all the same. Not only did I just turn my back on the only safe haven in my now- desolate home world, I flat-out attacked the one who made it so. Any rational person would look me in the eyes and tell me I did the right thing by standing up for what I believe in. And yet, for all of Vanellope's wrongdoings, I feel as if I've somehow wronged her a thousand times worse.

_Maybe that's what you need, Jubileena, _I think to myself. _You just need someone to come along and give you a pat on the back._ But I know that's not going to happen- the only other person currently in this game has just kicked me out of her little campsite, and rightfully so, I would say.

_You're standing up for her again, Jubi,_ the voices in my head tell me. _Stop it. You know in your heart what you did was right._

My mind believes it, but my heart isn't ready to accept it yet. In light of everything that's happened to her these past few days, I feel as though I could never say that I actually _hate _her.

In fact, I don't think I can say I've ever passionately detested someone to the point of hating them. It just wouldn't compute- not with the girl programmed to be the most loving, caring person in the game. Love is my natural talent; my forte. And I absolutely must hold on to it, now more than ever, because it's the only part of me I have left.

I do a quick mental checklist of the things that make me uniquely Jubileena, as determined by my code. Cheerful smile? That's gone. Contagious enthusiasm? Hardly. Love of cherries and racing? Well, unless our game is restored, I won't be getting any access to either anytime soon.

But somehow, through this ordeal, love is the one thing I've been able to hold on to. In spite of everything, I suppose it's been rather easy for me- I still have a home, and friends, and above all, I have Citrusella. I don't know what I do without her. I don't want to think about what she'd be doing without me- I can just imagine the look of terror on her face when the Surge Protectors inform her I've gotten my sorry self trapped in Sugar Rush again.

I decide I dislike Vanellope. I don't hate her- I could _never_ completely hate her. Even still, I dislike Vanellope for many things- for deluding herself into thinking she was fit to race with us, for ignoring our warnings and racing anyway, and for destroying our game in the process. And now, when all I could ever need was the truth, she spewed a load of blatant lies in my face.

_Or did she?_

I think back to what Clyde had said about Ralph yesterday during his Bad-Anon meeting. Could these minor rumors be true? Ralph, the hero who gave his life fighting King Candy, caused the invasion? I feel totally defeated just to consider it, yet I know in my heart that it can't be true. The very idea, even… it was outrageous! Slanderous, even! But yet, at the same time, part of me wants to believe it. I am powerless to let that part of me play Devil's advocate as I ponder over everything Vanellope said. Because out of everything she told me, one thing sticks out in my mind:

_"You can go around blaming other people for your problems, Jubi, but like it or not, that's the truth."_

And then I realize that Vanellope isn't completely wrong about Ralph. She's right about at least one thing- she wasn't responsible for his death. Not even King Candy was completely responsible. The only one I _can _blame is myself, for not stepping in to help Ralph when he unknowingly needed me.

_If I only knew what would happen…_

Whatever the circumstances surrounding his death really were, it was clear that Vanellope did in fact know Ralph. But in spite of all that came between them, it seemed that she actually had feelings for him. _Maybe she really _did_ try to save him, _I think to myself. It was a bittersweet relationship- they had every reason to hate each other, yet their seeming friendship lasted right up to the end. It was the kind of relationship I wish I could have with Vanellope, but I know it would never happen.

I snap out of my lather and bolt up because suddenly, I'm tempted to go back and apologize to Vanellope for everything I said- because I feel like calling her a glitch was the meanest thing I have ever done to anyone. I start in the direction of the cave when the cold reality sets in: Vanellope isn't going to accept my apology. I gave her my worst, and at the same time I lost both my only means of protection and the one thing I thought I'd never find in this messed-up world: a friend.

…

The sky is a dark, sickening shade of green as I clumsily take my leave from the secret entrance to Diet Cola Mountain. I must have spent hours in here- everyone back at the bunker will be worried sick for me, especially Citrus.

_Well, Jubileena, you wanted the truth, and you didn't find it here. Ready to call it quits? _I ask myself. My legs answer for me as I take off once again for the portal to Game Central Station.

The task of getting out of Sugar Rush without becoming Bug bait seemed impossible, but it had nothing on trying to ignore the voices in my head. Armed with newfound information from Vanellope, they assaulted my emotions as I blindly ran, desperately trying to keep my wits about me.

_"He didn't die trying to save this arcade…"_

_ "How can we be so sure about what happened?..."_

_ "Look, kid, I hate to sound rude, but I don't think there's anything that could cheer me up today. Thanks for trying, though, I guess…"_

I freeze suddenly. I've been trying to fight off the attacking thoughts in my head for what feels like ages, but at the sound of Ralph's voice, the fight goes out of me. Uncontrollably, I sink to my knees, my head swimming, then I raise my fists to the sky and let out the loudest scream of my life.

Only when my senses come back to me do I realize the deadly mistake I've made, and my hands fly to my mouth. But the damage has been done- I've just broadcast my general location to a whole game full of hungry Bugs who will stop at nothing to make a bedtime snack out of me. And unlike before, there sure won't be any Vanellope to step in and save me this time around.

_It doesn't matter, _I think. _It was bound to happen. Let them come. LET THEM COME._

And come they do- I have just enough time to stand up before waves of Cy-Bugs flood the valley en masse, their green eyes set on their next meal. A large orange one perches right in front of me- by the looks of it, this one has already feasted upon its fair share of the Sugar Rush landscape, and it's about to get a taste of the locals- literally. As it draws near, I shut my eyes, awaiting the sound of my inevitable death.

But the sound I hear next is quite different- it sounded like an inexplicable wail of pain. I open my eyes and am instantly perturbed by the sight of the Bug that had been ready to kill me moments ago, which now lay dead at my feet.

That's when I hear the gunfire- an entire row of the Cy-Bug circle surrounding me is floored as three armed soldiers enter the scene, each of them wearing some kind of protective armor. They looked a bit like a comedy routine- one was tall and lanky, one big and beefy, and the other short and pudgy, with a cartoonish-looking nose. I instantly recognize him as Felix, the man I met at the hospital yesterday.

_This day just keeps getting weirder, _I think.

The tall man runs up to me, still firing at the oncoming Bugs. "C'mon, kid! We're getting you outta here!" he yells over a flurry of bullets.

I take in the horde of Bugs before me, and yell back, "Much obliged!"

The four of us break our way out of the Cy-Bug circle, but another wave of airborne Bugs stops us in our tracks. _We're dead, _I think.

Turns out I was partially right: As Felix and the tall man jump out of harm's way, dragging me with them, their companion falls on his face, and his gun slides out of reach. The man panics as he scrambles after it, but the Bugs get there first and box him in, surrounding him from all sides. As the three of us run away, his shrieks of agony and the grim sounds of his demise are barely audible amidst the ruckus.

Having escaped death by Cy-Bugs for the first time in two days, I heave a sigh of relief as the two remaining soldiers and I finally reach the portal to Game Central. Felix nods at me and breathes deeply with a smile. The tall man, however, wastes no time- he immediately pulls out a radio transmitter and begins speaking into his earpiece. "Corporal Kohut to base. Do you copy? Markowski is down. Repeat: Markowski is down. Operation failed, but we managed to rescue a civilian," he says. "Returning to base now."

"You're all right now," Felix says reassuringly, as Kohut grasps me firmly by the hand. "You're gonna be just fine. Don't you worry. Everything will be just fine, okay?"

Kohut says nothing, but when I look up at him, the glare on his face suggests I have done something terribly wrong.

And indeed, the moment we step through the portal into the now Bug-free entrance to Game Central, the three of us are swarmed by angry Surge Protectors. Some of them hastily begin arguing with Kohut the moment he lets go of my wrist, while others are holding back the crowd of onlookers who came to see the girl who marched right into a game full of Cy-Bugs and somehow lived.

Among the onlookers was Citrusella, flanked by two Protectors. "Jubi!"

"CITRUS!" I yell back, but Kohut seizes me by the wrist again.

"No, stop it! LET ME GO!" I yell. "I have to see my sister! _I HAVE TO!_"

"Negative," says Kohut. "You are not authorized to return to the bunkers yet. We're taking you into custody. But first, Tamora wants a word with you…"

Still kicking, screaming, and calling for my little sister, I find myself dragged into the arcade's newest game, whose name I'd never remembered up until now: _Hero's Duty._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

From the moment I'm thrown into my detention cell amongst the war-torn corridors of Hero's Duty, I lose the ability to make sense of anything- not the past, not the present, and certainly not the future. Now that my body is constrained, my mind is free to wander; free to torture me with the sickening possibilities of what could have happened the day the arcade fell into ruin.

I thought I had had my heart in the right place from the beginning; I thought I didn't need to rely on others to discern the truth for myself. And the idea that Ralph started the invasion was far from believable. But here's the amazing thing: the longer I'm isolated from anyone to tell me otherwise, the more I actually begin to consider the craziest idea I've ever had.

_What if Vanellope was right?_

I wish I hadn't called her a glitch. I know our confrontation should never have gone so horribly wrong. Even in these dark times, it would be easiest to make friends, even if your new friend could have destroyed your home.

_It doesn't matter, _I think to myself, just as I had done during my last brush with the Bugs. _Pull your head out of the past and look to your imminent death. If the Cy-Bugs don't find you, you may as well rot here in this cell._

I'm exactly right. The past doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore. I used to have everything I could ever have wanted- friends, a home, a chance to show off my racing skills. And now I've been robbed of everything right up to being able to move two feet without bumping into a wall. I'm never going home again. I'm never going to get to see my friends, not my fellow racers, not even…

"Jubi!"

I bolt up as the door to the detention facility slides open and Citrusella enters the room, escorted by Kohut.

"Citrus!" I yell back excitedly, pressing my face against the glass wall of my cell.

"Oh, Jubi…"

Kohut enters a series of numbers against the wall near my cell, and suddenly the glass wall dissipates, allowing Citrus to rush to my arms. "You have five minutes," he warns her as he returns to his post.

Citrus's purple eyes stare me down lovingly. "I'm so glad you're alive," she says.

"Me too," I answer. In hindsight I've been extraordinarily lucky to have survived three Cy-Bug attacks in the span of two days. At least, I think it's been two days. "Citrus, how long have I been down here?"

"A day," she says. "Time Crisis was just shut down from a Bug Attack, but other than that, everyone's okay."

_We're only gonna be okay for as long as Litwak doesn't find his arcade in shambles. _I don't say it out loud, but we both realize it's true.

"Jubi…" Citrus says urgently. "You could have been killed! Why did you go back?!"

I take a deep breath. "Well, Citrus… you remember how I told you how I thought Vanellope saved my life three days ago?" She nods. "Well, it turns out… I was right. Because… Because she did it again." Citrus gasps. "And that's why I went back- I wanted her to tell me why, after everything she did to me… and everything I did to her…" I don't tell her about how our confrontation ended, but just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes- tears I'm sure haven't gone unnoticed by Citrusella. She keeps the same worried look in her eyes as I bury my face in her jacket.

"Don't leave me again, Jubi," she says tearfully, as if she might cry. "Y-you said you wouldn't leave me behind again… You said you'd be there for me. Please… please be there for me when I need you…"

"I'm here," I tell her. "I got you. I'll always be here for you. I promise."

"Oh, Jubi," she says again as we embrace each other for the longest time.

After a long while, Kohut breaks the silence. "Alright, let's go," he tells me, grabbing me firmly by the wrist again.

"Hey! Wh-what are you doing with me?!"

"Sergeant Calhoun would like to speak to you. We're taking you to her quarters now for interrogation," Kohut says gruffly, before gesturing towards the now-empty cell. "Unless you'd rather stay here, of course. Flugpucker!" he says to Citrus. "Please return to the bunkers at this time."

"No," says Citrus, crossing her arms. "I'm going with my sister."

Kohut just shrugs. "I'm afraid I can't authorize that. Until further notice you will be returned to the bunkers-"

"No, please!" she yells. "Let me go!"

"We can't allow you to accompany a prisoner to an interrogation, you do not have the authority to do so."

"Then let her go," says another voice, "on _my _authority."

Kohut glances over as Felix enters the room. "Miss Bing-Bing, my apologies for the trouble. You and your sister can follow me. At ease, brother," he says, addressing Kohut, who responds with a salute.

The winding halls within Hero's Duty aren't too dissimilar from those within the bunkers, but with the look of corroded metal and the smells of machine oil, these are clearly less hospitable. It must be a nightmare to have to live in a place like this, but I guess that those who do are programmed not to mind it.

On our way down we pass several other soldiers, who all stop to salute Felix as we walk by. From the looks of things, Felix must have some sort of high status amongst the game's soldiers. I wonder what he had to do to achieve it- fall in love with his superior officer, perhaps? The thought of that was just as ridiculous as that of Ralph starting the entire invasion.

Felix stops before a metal door on which the words "Sgt. T. J. Calhoun" are printed. The sight was too intimidating for Citrus. "Jubi, I'm scared," she whispered.

"Oh, don't worry, dear," says Felix, the thought of his boss seeming to make him blush. "I'm sure you and Tammy will get along just fine. She's such a dynamite gal!"

Without warning, the doors slide open, and a caustic female voice rings out from within. "And don't came back until I see progress, chucklenuts! Just because Markowski is gone doesn't mean I don't expect the same amount of work out of you maggots! Now get back into formation!"

"Yes, ma'am!" says a soldier who emerges from Calhoun's quarters, seeming to be in a hurry to get out of her sight.

"Wait here," Felix says before walking into the room. "Tammy? Miss Bing-Bing and her sister are here to see you."

"Bing-Bing, eh?" the female voice says with a chuckle. "Bring them in."

…

Before either of us know it, Citrusella and I are sitting at a large interrogation table, face-to-face with the Sergeant herself.

"I'm not the first one to say it to your precious little face," Calhoun says snidely, "and I sure won't be the last, but you, young lady, are lucky you're still in one piece. I've never seen anyone do something so stupid in my life. Well, I can't say that… there was always that brainless, big-fisted sack of barley…"

Brainless? _Big-fisted? _"Wait…" I say. "Are you talking about…"

"Wreck-It Ralph?" she answers. "That's right. Now that fella had thick arms and an even thicker skull."

This was unbelievable. This woman knew Wreck-It Ralph?! "You knew him? How did you meet him?!" I blurt out stupidly.

Calhoun stares me down coldly. "That's not important right now. What's important is you, because stupid as your actions were, from the sound of the report Kohut's given me, it looks like you may be able to help us finally put a stop to this blasted invasion."

My mind has been blown for the second time today. "Me? H-how?"

"For days now, our forces have been trying to find a way to put a stop to the outbreak, and we think we've finally figured out a solution of sorts that should wipe out every Bug in the arcade. But in order to do so, we need to do two things. First of all, since the invasion started in Sugar Rush, we need to return there. And since you're from that candy-coated nightmare, you'll have the pleasure of showing us around."

"Okayyy…" I'm still confused. My mind is still recovering from the shock that a Sergeant from Hero's Duty had met the former Bad Guy from Fix-It Felix, Jr.

"Step number two," she goes on. "We need to find our way to the game's code. Our plan is to hack into it and detonate an energy pulse that should take these Bugs out. What we need is a secret passage- a hidden, unfinished area or something. Got any ideas?"

I remember my meeting with Vanellope yesterday… "The secret room inside Diet Cola Mountain!" I say excitedly. "You might be able to access the code from there!"

Calhoun smiles. "You sure know your game inside out, civilian," she says. "Good thing, too, 'cause if this plan's gonna work, we need you with us to get us to that secret room. This is your big chance to help save the arcade… so whaddaya say, kiddo?"

This is it… my chance to be a hero, to finally finish what Ralph had started. "Count me in!" I say without hesitation.

Citrus jumps up suddenly, with a vivid look in her eyes. "I'm coming too!"

"Citrus, no!" I tell her. "You could die out there… are you crazy?"

"For you, Jubi," she says, in a reassuring yet strong voice, "I just might be."

"Then it's settled," says Calhoun. "You two will help us break into Sugar Rush, but you're neither of you prepared to engage in combat. You and the other rookies in the arcade will be training with Lieutenant Joe for the next three days."

"Lieutenant Joe?" Citrus and I ask each other, when suddenly a tall, armor-clad figure enters the interrogation room and a jaunty French voice sounds out, "Aha! Ce doit être Madame Bing-Bing et sa soeur! (Aha! This must be Miss Bing-Bing and her sister)!"

_I know that voice,_ I think as I turn around. At the first sight of the man standing behind me, my jaw drops to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

This couldn't be happening. There's no way he could have survived the invasion! How did he escape? It couldn't be him… He'd have to be dead…

And yet, there he was, plain as day, just the same as the countless times I had seen him before at Tapper's. Though he looked infinitely more intimidating with his full-body armor and the militant look on his face, there was no mistaking his red hair and overly pronounced jawline.

"…_GLASS JOE?!_"

All I could do was continue to gape at the sight of this boxer, the last person I would have expected to endure an all-out attack on the arcade. He gave a slight chuckle at the sound of his name. "Oui, c'est moi. Qui est-ce que vous attendiez? (Yes, it is I. Who else were you expecting?)" he said matter-of-factly.

Citrusella and I exchange looks. This was incredible. Getting to be part of this so-called resistance movement was one thing, but a resistance movement spearheaded by a woman who once knew Wreck-It Ralph and a man presumed dead from Cy-Bug attacks was something else entirely.

"I… I definitely wasn't expecting to see you," I say, still taken aback by his presence. "Whenever you fought at Tappers, you never seemed very… er… tough. And with all these Bug attacks… I never thought you would make it out of your game in time."

Glass Joe chuckled again. "Bien sûr que non. Personne ne pense donc hautement de Glass Joe, le verre des mâchoires de la France. (Of course not. No one would think so highly of Glass Joe, the glass jaw of France)." The redheaded Frenchman unzipped his pack and withdrew a large blaster, similar to the one Kohut used to battle the Cy-Bugs. "Mais ce que personne ne sait, c'est que j'ai le meilleur chasseur avec un fusil! (But what no one knows is that I've the best aim with a gun around!)" he added, cocking his weapon.

Before I can ask the obvious question of how he developed such good aim, Calhoun cuts me off. "Well, well, well, it looks like you two redheads know each other. That'll make your training all the more easy." She hands Citrus and I a pair of large duffle bags that presumably contain our supplies. The woman must have titanium in her arms- the bags look relatively light in her hands, but the second we take them, their weight makes us fall over.

"Careful with that armor, rookies! Those gold coins of yours ain't gonna cover a scratch on those supplies," Calhoun snaps at us, before turning to face Glass Joe. "Lieutenant! Kindly escort Bing-Bing and her sister to the bunkers," she orders him. Thinking for a moment, she adds, "And make sure they don't go running off to any more picnics this time."

The French ex-boxer responds with a salute, before ushering us out of the Sergeant's quarters and out of the game.

…

Evidently, the unexpected visit to Hero's Duty had been too much for Citrus. The moment Glass Joe deposits us into our room in the bunkers, she flops onto her cot, void of energy, a weary expression on her face.

I, on the other hand, can't sleep. And who could blame me? Not only have I just learned of a resistance movement against the Bugs, I've been offered the chance to take part in it. What reasonable person would turn down an opportunity to be the greatest hero in the arcade? To put an end to all this pain and suffering? To follow in the massive footsteps of Ralph?

Besides, my code tells me it would be the right thing to do in this situation. In fact, it's the only thing I can do, now that my characteristic love and compassion has the deficit of Vanellope. Even after all that's happened between us, I still feel guilty for what I did to her, and now only a good deed to this extent will absolve me of that guilt.

Vanellope had known Ralph… wait. If that woman from Hero's Duty had known Ralph too… could that mean she had known Vanellope as well? My mind is full of questions again, and while Citrus tries to sleep all I can think about is the impending return to Hero's Duty, and eventually, to Sugar Rush.

"Just think, Citrus…" I tell her. "Before we know it we'll be going back home. No more Bugs. No more fighting. Everything's going to go back to normal."

Citrusella groans and rolls over to face me. "Jubi, I don't like this," she says groggily. "I don't want you to get hurt… I would rather die than watch you get killed…"

I slide out of my cot and wrap her in my arms. "No one's going to get killed, Citrus," I reassure her. "Not me, not you, nobody. I promise. Just you wait, Citrus. This arcade's going to be peaceful again."

My promise of peace was all that she needed to finally fall asleep in my lap. Carefully I slide off her cot and try in futility to get some sleep. But the sleep doesn't come and my mind wanders back to tomorrow's training, my first step to setting things right for good in the arcade.

…

At the first wake-up call that resonates through the bunkers, I instinctively jump out of bed, running over to the duffle bag that bears my name.

The scuffle wakes up Citrus. "Ugh, Jubi…" she groans. "I'm trying to sleep…"

"Come on Citrus, get up! It's training day!" I gingerly help her out of bed before running back to my bag.

Citrus tentatively approaches hers. "So what's in these, anyway?"

"No idea. Our uniforms, probably," I say. "I'll take this to the bathroom and try mine on first." I tug on the bag, but I've forgotten how heavy it is and it doesn't budge. It takes a minute's worth of dragging the bag before I finally reach the bathroom.

I unzip the bag and examine its contents. I instantly find what was weighing the bag down- a heavy-duty Cy-Bug blaster. After digging through the bag for a few moments, I finally find what appears to be my uniform. But when I pull it out of the bag, my heart sinks into my stomach. It's a skintight black protective suit, similar to the one Calhoun was wearing during our meeting.

I glance back and forth from the uniform and my own outfit, and gulp as the truth sets in: I'm going to have to undress. I've always hated undressing- I was programmed with this outfit, and taking it off makes me feel like I'm shedding a part of my code; a part of myself. But if I'm going to stop this invasion once and for all, it has to be done.

Once my shoes, socks, skirt, jacket, and top come off, I start wrestling with the too-tight uniform when a knock on the door interrupts me. Citrus runs to answer it as I listen through the bathroom door, fully expecting to hear the voice of Glass Joe. When I instead hear Taffyta's, I clumsily hurry out of the bathroom to greet her, forgetting about the suit, and end up collapsing in a heap on the floor half-naked.

Citrus laughs and Taffyta remarks, "Whoa, Jubes, you look like you're on your way to Dance Dance Revolution! Too bad it got chewed up by Bugs."

"Hey!" I scowl at her, blushing, as I hurriedly slip on the rest of my uniform. "Hey… shut up!" I've never been good at making insults.

Taffyta smiles. "I heard you were going to help those guys from Hero's Duty stop the invasion, so let me be the first to say thanks."

"Aw, Taff," I say, stumbling towards her in my skintight uniform for a hug. "That means a lot to me."

"Yeah," she shrugs. "But hey, listen- before you go, just in case I don't get to see you again… there's something you should know." Suddenly, a worried look crosses her face. "Jubi, I…"

Her statement is cut off by the sudden arrival of Glass Joe. "…Never mind. It looks like you guys should be going," she says. "Good luck, Jubes." She sidesteps the approaching Joe, hurries back to her room and slams the door.

"Wonder what _that _was all about," Citrus says snarkily, as Glass Joe steps into the room to take Taffyta's place. "Alors, sommes-nous prêts? (So, are we ready?)"

"One more thing," I answer, as I reach into my bag and pull out the final piece of my suit: a large helmet. _Looks like you won't need your hat or pigtails anymore, _I think. In an act of finality, I whip off my cherry cap and yank out my hairties, and my red hair falls to my neck as I strap on my helmet. "Come on, Citrus. We've got an arcade to save."

…

Before long, Citrus and I are standing side-by-side in matching uniforms outside the training bay within Hero's Duty, each of us carrying a blaster over our shoulders. I glance over at my gun, wondering just how I'm going to get used to using it.

At least it looks like I'm not the only inexperienced fighter. The troops from Hero's Duty have evidently been rounding up a ragtag lot of volunteers from all across the arcade, some well trained (Ken, Ryu and Solid Snake), some not (Pooka, Fygar, and Miles "Tails" Prower). They're a determined bunch, but they'll still need quite a bit of target practice.

The Hero's Duty soldiers are helping the newcomers get their uniforms and weapons in order, when Sergeant Calhoun and Lieutenant Joe enter the training bay. Immediately, the soldiers fall into position with a "Ten-Hut!", as the inexperienced fighters try their best to imitate them.

"All right, listen up ladies!" Calhoun calls out. "I don't care what kind of cutesy platform-strategy game you come from or what you used to do for a living, because now you're here to help protect the arcade at all costs!"

"Vous avez entendu son. Nous avons à faire tout ce qu'il faut pour arrêter cette invasion à jamais. (You heard her. We have to do whatever it takes to stop this invasion for good.)" adds Joe.

Suddenly the gate to the training bay begins to open, revealing not a practice area filled with targets, but to our horror, a barren, alien landscape infested with real Bugs.

"Your training begins now," says Calhoun, "so do exactly as I say if you want to make it out of this game alive. You ready, rookies? Let's find out."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I don't even have a second to think about what I've just gotten myself into before the gate fully opens, exposing the Bug-infested world of Hero's Duty, and at Calhoun's command the soldiers rush forward, pushing the new recruits right along with them. But soon enough it hits me: I've just stumbled through the threshold of what was once the deadliest game in the arcade.

The moment the thought sinks in, all hell breaks loose. A hail of gunfire sounds out as a steady swarm of Bugs engulfs the soldiers. From the looks of it, the newcomers are just as unprepared to fight actual bugs as I am.

I run to catch up to Calhoun, who is currently at the front of the team giving orders to those behind her. "Get back into formation, rookie! Fall back!" she snaps as I finally reach her.

"Sergeant- sir- ma'am!" I blurt out, gasping for breath. "I thought this was just going to be target practice! No one said anything about fighting actual- BUGS!"

Without warning, a gargantuan Cy-Bug lands five feet away and rushes me, tackling me to the ground. I hold my blaster up to my face, trying desperately to fend off its attack.

Calhoun fires three times, and the Bug vaporizes. As I pick myself up off the ground, which the skintight uniform makes more difficult, she gives me a disapproving look.

"Do you Sugar Rush brats have candy for brains? Use your weapon!" she yells before running off to save Tails from his own Bug attack.

"Weapon… right." I pull my blaster out of my pack, but instantly realize I have no idea how to use it. Whoever designed these blasters certainly didn't have 12-year-olds in mind when it came to user interface.

After hoisting the gun into what I believe is the right position, a small touchscreen on its front catches my eye. When I give it a tap, the screen lights up and the gun immediately rattles to life, which startles me so much that I drop it.

This catches the attention of three nearby Cy-Bugs, who surround me as I scramble to pick up my weapon. I glance from the gun in my hands to the Bugs on all sides. _If you wanna figure out how to use this thing, it's now or never,_ I think before pulling the trigger firmly down.

A spray of bullets erupts from the barrel, completely engulfing the Cy-Bugs. After only a few seconds of being caught in my steady stream of gunfire, the Bug directly in front of me dissipates. I spin around to face the other two, but the weight of the gun drags me too far, and I can only swing it around aimlessly as gunfire envelops the remaining Bugs.

Once I've taken out all three, at first I simply stand in awe, admiring my handiwork- not bad aim for a Sugar Rusher who's just fired a gun for the first time, after all. Almost instantly, though, my admiration gives way to worry. Not only have I just fired a gun, I've just killed a living thing. A code-eating abomination of a living thing, sure, but a living thing nonetheless…

_What are you doing? _I ask myself. _Look at what you're doing to yourself! Look at what you've become, Jubileena, the cherry-loving racer, the sweetest, most compassionate girl in the arcade. Do you really want to become Jubileena, the cold-blooded murderer, the deadliest shot in the arcade? Do you?_

My mind is reeling from the realization of what I've just done and I double over, clutching my chest, gasping for breath. _Do I really want to become something I'm not?_

But when another Cy-Bug lands just feet away from me, bearing its razor-sharp fangs with menace, my question is answered for me. Without thinking twice I whip out my blaster and shoot it straight through the head.

As I watch its dead body fall and disintegrate into code, I know I've just done something I can never undo. _There's no turning back now, Jubileena, _I think. _It's over. You're one of them now- a mindless killing machine, capable of loving no one, not even…_

Suddenly I snap back to reality as I remember my sister. How stupid was I to just let her risk her life to help me save the arcade? I should never have let her come. I head back in the direction of the troops, trying desperately to reach Citrusella.

But a gang of Bugs is on my trail, and I have to practice attacking moving targets on the fly. With each successful kill, my shooting accuracy increases, but I can only hope that it will all be enough to keep Citrus out of danger.

I finally spot her among the newcomers, and she waves when she spots me. "Jubi!"

"Citrus!" I yell back, not paying any attention to the oncoming wave of Bugs.

"Sur la gauche! (On the left!)" warns Glass Joe as five Bugs touch down right in between me and my sister, their green eyes set on me. Before I have time to react, Felix and Joe jump into the fray and begin to unload on the attacking Bugs.

"Don't you worry, sweetie, I got ya covered!" says Felix as he takes out the Bug on the far right, and the three of us collectively kill three more before the largest Bug swipes at us with its talons, knocking away Felix, Joe, and the gun in my hand.

Instinctively I lunge for my weapon, but the Bug gets there first, eating it and absorbing its essence. A pair of blaster-like appendages sprouts from the fronds on the back of its head. _This is it, _I think. _For real this time. No one to step in and save me. No more guns; no more Vanellope. It's all over for real…_

I shut my eyes and wait for the sound of gunfire. But when it comes, I don't feel anything. When I open my eyes, I'm met with the sight of the Cy-Bug that almost killed me reeling around in pain from a gunshot wound, before dropping dead to reveal Citrusella standing in front of me, her blaster in her hand.

A silence falls over the troops as everyone- even Calhoun- turns dumbstruck to face my 8-year-old little sister, the rookie who just took out a Cy-Bug at point-blank range. As if to break the silence, she yells out, "Got it!"

Calhoun beams down at her. "Not bad, civilian," she says. "Not bad."

I run up to her. "That was amazing," I tell her. "Thanks for the save, Citrus."

"No problem, Jubi," she says. "You would've done the same for me for sure."

"Yeah…" I pause. "Citrus, I'm not sure if I like this. I know this training's for the good of the arcade, but… it doesn't feel right. It feels… different."

Citrus just shrugs. "Well, ever since the invasion, everything's been different, hasn't it? Maybe we need to feel different. Maybe… maybe different is good, Jubi."

"Maybe…" I say, when suddenly a siren from within the training bay interrupts me. "Red alert. Red alert. Return to Game Central Station immediately," a robotic voice sounds out from the loudspeakers. Immediately, the soldiers begin to make for the game's exit.

"What's going on?" I ask Kohut as he runs by.

"We have a red alert. The Surge Protectors tell us there's been an attack on Game Central," he says. "Grab a weapon and move out!"

_An attack on Game Central?! _I think as Citrus and I hurry after him, neither of us prepared for what we'd be finding there…


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: Lots and lots of character death coming up. You have been warned…**

Chapter 10

I have to admit, I was more than a little excited when I first caught word that Game Central Station was under attack. Now that I've been shaped into a full-fledged fighter through all this training, it seemed like this was my chance to put those skills to good use. It couldn't be all that hard, anyway- normally, when the Surge Protectors say there's an "attack", it usually means a stray Bug or two ended up in the station while passing from game to game. What's the worst that could happen?

Unfortunately, I was about to find out.

As the soldiers edge their way out of the monorail, I leap over them into the terminal and skip to the front, fully expecting to have an encounter with a handful of Bugs. When I reach the entrance to the station, however, it's all I can do not to scream at the top of my lungs.

What used to be Game Central now looks like the nucleus of a wasps' nest. The cacophonous buzz of dozens upon dozens of Cy-Bugs fills the once peaceful station, their presence giving this hub area the look and feel of Hero's Duty.

As I take in the devastation, the other soldiers catch up to me and gasp in horror.

"Sacre bleu! Game Central est sous attaque! (Good heavens! Game Central is under attack!)" exclaims Glass Joe.

"Oh my land!" gasps Felix.

A stray Surge Protector spots us and runs to the terminal. "Oh, thank Litwak you're here, we need backup NOW!" he yells in a panic. "These Bugs are taking over the whole station, and we can't stop them! We have to get rid of them before _Turbo_ comes back…"

"TURBO?!" Calhoun, Felix and I say at the same time. The three of us briefly exchange looks, as if we'd all met this same Turbo before.

Turbo… King Candy, the game-jumper who took over our game and played us for fools, the madman who used Vanellope to bring about the Cy-Bug invasion, the murderer who killed Ralph as he tried to prevent it… That surely wasn't the same Turbo that Felix or Calhoun had known. Or _was _it?

"What was _he_ doing here?" Calhoun demanded.

The Surge Protector gulped. "H-he said it was only a matter of time before his takeover of the arcade would be complete, and then this whole station started flooding with Bugs… and then he retreated into Sugar Rush…"

Sugar Rush… that was where we were headed originally, in order to stop the invasion… Could Turbo possibly be on to our plan?!

The Surge Protector clears his throat and continues, "Access to all games has been shut off for safety. The Bugs have taken this entire hub, but it gets worse…"

Suddenly, Citrus points to the bunkers and gasps. "Jubi, look!"

My eyes follow her finger to the open hatch leading to the bunkers, and widen in raw fear as a cluster of Bugs flies in.

_Oh my code…_

"The bunkers!" I scream at Calhoun. "_They're attacking the bunkers!_"

That gets her attention, and she leaps to the head of the team. "Alright people, spread out! Kohut, Joe, take this hub area!" she orders. "Felix, Bing-Bing, head for the bunkers! No one stops fighting till every last Cy-Bug in this station is dead, you hear me? Now let's move!"

On her word, we barrel out of the Hero's Duty terminal and into the buzzing green sea of chaos. Mayhem ensues as the still inexperienced new recruits fire haphazardly at anything that moves (including each other), leaving the troops from Hero's Duty to hunt down the Bugs themselves. But they are greatly outnumbered, and just as a group of Bugs is shot down, another zooms in to take its place.

I want to stay and help them fight, but I have orders to follow Felix to the bunkers, and more importantly, friends down there from Sugar Rush and the entire rest of the arcade who need me, now more than ever. I can only imagine the hell that was once this last safe place in the arcade, now abuzz with lethal Cy-Bugs, making a meal out of the cast of every last game… the thought is so horrible I push it out of my mind.

But once we descend the stairs to the upper level of the bunkers, shooting down several Bugs in the process, I get to see it for myself. The common room on the upper floor is a mix of Bugs, Surge Protectors, and the helpless residents of the bunkers, some doing whatever they can to attack them, some fleeing.

At the sight of Felix, Q*Bert scurries over to us and briefly utters several lines of gibberish before a Cy-Bug lands right in front of us, snatches him, and devours him whole. Instantly Felix responds with several rounds from his blaster, and the Bug disintegrates.

"You and Citrusella take the lower levels!" Felix shouts at us. "I'll handle this!"

Without hesitation Citrus and I race to the stairwell and head for the lower levels, where the rest of the Sugar Rushers reside. But just as we round the last flight of stairs, a Cy-Bug emerges from within the stairwell, rushes past me, knocking away my blaster, and pins Citrus to the wall.

"Jubi, help!" she screams.

"CITRUS! _NO!_" I shriek, flinging myself at the attacking Bug. But the creature is clearly unfazed by my attack, lashes me in the face with its tail, and sends me careening towards the wall, right next to my blaster. I can taste the tang of blood in my mouth as I lunge for my gun and rush back to the Bug, which takes a swipe at Citrusella but misses.

"Citrus, duck!" I call out.

She does, and I let fly with my blaster, putting three bullets in its face. The Cy-Bug shrieks in pain and rolls down the stairs, and its dead body comes to rest beside the entrance to the living quarters. Citrus falls to the floor and gasps for breath.

I hurry over to her. "Citrus, you okay?"

After a moment of heavy breathing, she answers, "I'm… fine."

Just as I help my sister to her feet, a bloodcurdling scream sounds out within our living quarters- a scream that could only belong to one strawberry-themed racer…

"_Taffyta!_" I call out as Citrus and I rush ahead. "_I'm coming!_"

We enter the bunkers to find our first pleasant surprise: the other Sugar Rushers are still alive, and like the arcade's other characters, some are fleeing, some fighting back. But their weapons- baseball bats, shovels, and the like- are proving ineffective against the Bugs. In a matter of seconds, Citrus and I burst in and begin firing, wiping them out.

"Candlehead!" I ask the hotheaded racer, as she uses the flame on her candle hat to swat away a passing Cy-Bug. "Where's Taffyta?"

"I dunno… I think she ran into her room!" says Candlehead. "And I think one of these Bugs followed her there… you better check on her! Oh, I hope she's al- _AAAAAH!_"

The Cy-Bug returns to have another go at Candlehead and knocks her to the ground, only to be shot down by my blaster and blown to smithereens.

"Come on, Citrus," I tell my sister, and the two of us make a mad dash for Taffyta's room, just as another scream from Taffyta sounds from within.

We barge into the room and find her just as the attacking Cy-Bug sinks one of its pincers into her chest. She gasps and shudders as the creature retracts its talon, leaving a bloody hole in her stomach.

"Please… make it stop…" she whimpers, her face lined with tears.

Without hesitation we both fire at the Bug, which uses its pincers to block our attacks. Its defense, though, is no match for our offense, and the Bug is dead before its body falls and collapses on Taffyta's cot.

I run over to Taffyta and ease her up against the wall. Then I see the wound in her belly and gasp- the Cy-Bug has sliced her open to the bone. She needs medical attention now- if this wound is unchecked, it will kill her for sure.

"Just… leave me here…" she moans weakly, as I help her up. "I'm… fine…"

"No you're not," I say. "You're dying, Taff. We need to get you to a doctor, now."

"What are we gonna do, Jubi?" asks Citrus. "The hospital's probably under attack right now too! Besides, who's gonna be able to fix a wound like that?!"

And that's when it hits me. I know _exactly _who can fix it- because I've seen him do it before, after Vanellope saved me from Cy-Bugs for the first time. The answer to our problem was lying in wait on the upper floor of the bunkers… Now, all I had to do was find a way to get her there.

"Come on, Taff. We gotta move," I tell her as I stand her up. But the pain from the wound is too overbearing for her, and all she does is wince in agony and double over.

"Jubi, what are you doing? Can't you see she can't stand up?!" snaps Citrus.

"We have to get her to Felix. He's the only one who can heal her," I answer.

"Carry me… Jubes…" Taffyta grunts, before dropping back to the floor.

With no other option, I sling Taffyta over my shoulders and bolt out of her room and into the stairwell. Now that all the Bugs in the lower level have been destroyed, I don't have to worry about shooting at anything. All I have to do is reach Felix in time.

We reach the upper levels of the bunkers and find Felix locked in battle with a particularly large Cy-Bug. "Felix, we need your help!" I yell over the roar of his bullets.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, darling!" he yells back.

I glance at Taffyta, still flushed and bleeding profusely, and try to reassure her, just as Kohut's voice says, "Hub area clear. Reporting to bunkers, upper level."

The other Hero's Duty soldiers have returned- just in time to watch in horror as the Cy-Bug grabs Felix's blaster with its teeth, devours it, and sprouts a gun atop its head.

"Jiminy jaminy…" the Niceland repairman gulps as he braces for the attack.

"_NOOOO!_" shrieks Calhoun, running into the fray, as she and the Bug fire at the same time. As the Bug stumbles back and explodes from Calhoun's attack, its bullet sinks squarely into Felix's chest. Calhoun runs to Felix, and cradles him in her arms.

"Fix-It, please," she begs him, her eyes full of tears. "Come on… stay with us…"

With his strength leaving him, Felix reaches up and brushes away her tears with his hand. "Don't worry, Tammy…" he says, smiling. "You'll always be… my dynamite gal..."

As Felix's last breath finally leaves him, Calhoun kneels over his body, and the rest of Litwak's arcade join her in weeping for their fallen warrior.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Since the invasion started, Game Central Station has never been busier, but for all the wrong reasons. With most of the bunkers destroyed, activity has returned to the hub once again, but it lacks the cheerful hustle and bustle characteristic of the pre-Turbo days. Rather, a solemn silence fills the station- a vigil for those who lost their extra lives in yesterday's Cy-Bug attack.

As I wander the open station, which I can now do without being under the mercy of the Surge Protectors, I see the faces of the homeless and hungry, victims one and all of the Bug fallout. They've not only been deprived of a game, now they've lost their very sense of security as the safety of the bunkers they once knew ended abruptly with the attack. Some of them have lost their colleagues, as well as their homes, to the Bugs. Some are in desperate need of medical attention, and the Surge Protectors are going into double overtime to treat everyone they can.

But of course, all of them know that life in this arcade will inevitably come to an end this Sunday evening, for Litwak will return to his game consoles only to find them swamped with Cy-Bugs. The future of the arcade, the careers of all of us here in Game Central, and the lives of those yet to escape their games will be gone forever.

Game Over.

Of course no one bothers to mention it. There's still a couple of days left for us to live out this miserable existence. There's still time to prepare for the end. And there's always that last shred of hope that, if Calhoun's plan works and the invasion is stopped, the denizens of Litwak's Arcade will live to see another day go by.

As I take in the defeated faces of the homeless, passing by game after broken game in the arcade's once-busy terminals, I stop at the sealed portal to Sugar Rush. _Somewhere in there, Turbo's waiting for us_, I think to myself. _And we're gonna find him_.

…

The bunkers were once the safest place in the arcade, thanks to the efforts of the Surge Protectors. Now, with the living quarters badly in need of repair and many of its residents injured or killed, the lower level has been evacuated and the common rooms on the upper floor converted to Game Central's new hospital.

At least, that's what the Surge Protectors call it. The rest of us all know what it really is- a morgue.

With no way to achieve proper burial, the bodies of those who died in the attack on Game Central are stored in one common room, awaiting a funeral decoding. As I pass by, I can see the dead lying at the corner of the room, some with their living friends and families at their side, mourning the loss of their loved ones.

The sound of a bier rolling down the hall grabs my attention, and as I turn around I gasp at the sight of Tails' dead body lying inside… brave Tails, who, although highly inexperienced, took up the cause anyway to train with us at Hero's Duty to help bring freedom back to the arcade. He must have died defending the hub from the Bug attack.

As the bier passes me to deposit Tails amongst the dead, I notice the door to the adjacent room is ajar. Approaching it, I'm seized with a sense of déjà vu, as if I had just been inside this exact same room earlier this week. Then I hear the voice of Clyde from within, and instantly I know why- this was the room where the Bad-Anon meetings were held, including the one I had crashed earlier this week.

"He was an inspiration to mad scientists everywhere," Clyde was saying in a solemn voice. "And for a Bad Guy… well, he was always a pretty good guy. And I think I speak for all of us here at Bad-Anon when I say that I'm proud to have known him all my life, and that I'm gonna miss him."

I peer inside to find the Bad-Anon members gathered in a circle around the body of one of its fallen members (and Tails' former rival, by no coincidence), Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. I can only imagine he had died as he lived: surrounded by robots.

However, just as before, my presence doesn't escape Clyde. "Oh… Ms. Bing-Bing," he says, startled.

By now I am famous throughout the arcade for saving my sister's life as well as helping to fight against yesterday's Bug attack, and at the sound of my name the other Bad-Anon members peel around to get a glimpse of me.

I feel terrible for barging in on the Bad-Anon members mourning their lost friend. "Oh… I'm so sorry," I say, flustered. "I should just… go…"

But just as I close the door, a voice from within the room cries out, "WAIT!", and the door flies open again. A pair of large hands scoops me off the ground, and their owner holds me at eye level with the face of the Koopa King.

"Bowser, put her down at once!" orders Clyde. "There's no point in this!"

"Wait," Bowser tells Clyde. "There's something I gotta ask her first."

The reptilian redhead and I stare face-to-face, and for the first time I notice the tears in his eyes.

"Kid…" he says, "promise me that no matter what happens out there… you'll never give up fighting. Never give it up, no matter what… can you promise me that?"

I hesitate because I'm not sure I can live up to such a promise. If anything remained of the code that once controlled who I was I would have stayed put and accepted my death right from the moment the invasion began. But as I look into the faces of the Bad-Anon members, deflated, defeated and desperate for hope… I know I can't let them down.

"Yes," I say. "I'm gonna fight right until the end… for you, for me, and for the entire rest of the arcade." After a moment of thought, I add, "and for Ralph."

Bowser sets me back on the ground, his eyes full of tears, and salutes, and the other Bad Guys do the same as I leave the room.

"Godspeed, Ms. Bing-Bing," I hear Clyde's voice say behind me. "Godspeed."

…

To their everlasting credit, the Surge Protectors are doing everything they can to treat the wounded. But they've lost their best medic in Felix, and with fewer staff members left to treat them, the patients and casualties only keep piling up.

Around the corner of the living facilities I see several Hero's Duty soldiers leaving one of the crowded hospital rooms. "Who's in there?" I ask Kohut.

"Lieutenant Joe," he answers, shaking his head. "Took a blow to that jaw of his fighting off the Cy-Bug attack, but he should be fine. We're getting him something to eat."

I don't even bother to ask how Calhoun is. I can only imagine how devastated she must have been from losing her husband as I enter Glass Joe's room.

At the sight of me the French boxer sits up, half of his face wrapped in bandages. He says nothing, but glances at me in a what-do-you-want sort of way.

I check my pockets for something for him to eat, but all I can find is a bag of cherries I brought as a snack. With nothing else to offer, I hold it out in front of him.

"Non, merci. Je n'ai jamais eu l'estomac pour les cerises. (No, thanks. I've never had the stomach for cherries.)" Glass Joe says weakly, with a light chuckle.

Just then, Kohut and the other soldiers return with a tray of food for Joe. I want to stay and help comfort him, but Kohut grabs me by the arm again. "Hey!"

"You've been called down to hospice care on the lower levels," says Kohut. "Ms. Muttonfudge is in critical condition and would like to speak to you."

…

_Critical condition?! _I think as Kohut drags me down to the lower levels of the bunkers, to the hospice care wing.This was not good… Those wounds she picked up from the attack yesterday were deep- too deep, it seemed, for anyone but Felix to fix. But if what Kohut's saying is true, she may well be on her way out…

But instead of the horrific sight of a dying Taffyta, the sight that greets me outside of the hospice wing is a happy one: Every Sugar Rush racer is standing outside Taffyta's door, even those that had been presumed dead from the initial Bug attacks. At the sight of my green-haired best friend, I break free of Kohut's grasp and run toward her.

"MINTY!"

Minty returns my hug with a smile. "Hey Jubi. Long time no see. Wow, you sure look… different," she says, staring at me in my Hero's Duty costume.

"Yeah… I guess so," I say, glancing at my uniform, wishing I could have worn my original outfit for this reunion with my best friend. "But it's a good different. At least, that's what it feels like."

"I'll say!" Minty says, giggling. "That suit totally makes your butt look big!"

"H-hey!" I say, my face turning red. "It does _not!_"

_Is it really THAT_ _noticeable? _I think to myself. _I really hate this uniform…_

"But… the invasion… How'd you get out of Sugar Rush?" I ask her gleefully.

"A few days ago, we saw Turbo with a bunch of Bugs following him," says Minty, "so we followed him to Game Central! Then those Hero's Duty guys found us and brought all of us here! Well, almost all of us… we lost Torvald and Sticky a while back, but everyone else is fine."

I'm relieved Minty's alive, but I feel terrible for her twin sisters- Minty always loved them. They sure didn't deserve whatever twisted fate they got, and Minty definitely didn't deserve to lose them. I see sadness in Minty's eyes from her loss, but I can also see a bit of jealousy, and at first I don't understand why. Then I remember I still have Citrusella, a sister to call my own, and suddenly it's easy to see why Minty would be jealous.

"Oh, Minty… it's good to see you again," I say.

"You too, Jubi," Minty answers. "So what happened to Taffyta?"

"Well," I begin, but Kohut cuts me off. "Ms. Muttonfudge is ready to see you. Come with me, all of you."

I follow him into the room, the rest of Sugar Rush behind me, prepared to say my last goodbyes to an old friend.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Taffyta lays with her back pressed against her cold metal bed in the hospice wing of the bunkers, her head propped up by several pillows. Her face is just as beautiful as I'd ever known in the fifteen years we've raced together, but with the big gaping scar in her belly, she looks like a marshmallow peep that's been shot with a bullet.

"How… how is she?" Citrusella nervously asks Kohut.

"Not good," he says. "She's been classified as terminal. From the sound of it, she's only got a half-hour left, tops." Kohut sighs deeply before instructing us, "Keep her company. I'll be waiting outside." With that, he holsters his blaster over his shoulder and marches out of the room, the door closing behind him.

I take in Taffyta's surroundings- the whole hospice wing is nothing but a flank of big, metal rooms, void of color, company, or anything that might bring comfort to anyone with minutes left to live. No dying person with any streak of rationale left could have wanted this, and certainly no one deserved to die like this. _No wonder she wanted to see all of us, _I think. _What better way to die than in the company of friends._

She's still alive- I can tell that much from the heart rate monitor that sits next to her. But from the look on her face, she's either in a deep sleep or unconscious. Unsure of what else to do, we all surround her body, and Candlehead, one of her closest friends, waves a hand over her face.

"T-Taffyta…?"

At the sound of her name, Taffyta begins to stir, but doesn't wake up.

"Taffyta? You in there?"

Slowly, Taffyta opens her eyes. It takes several blinks before the face hovering inches over hers comes into focus. "Candles."

"Oh, Taffy…" Candlehead wails, before seizing Taffyta's arm and burying her face into it sobbing, making her wince in pain.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy on her arm, Candle Brains!" Minty says, running up to her and snatching her arm away. "Hey, Taff… How you feeling?"

Taffyta squints as she recognizes her newest visitor. "Minty," she moans. "Is that you? I thought… you were dead."

"No bug invasion's gonna keep _this _racer down, Taff," Minty says. "I'm here now."

"It's good to see you… all of you alive," Taffyta says, turning to face all of us as we surround her. "I knew… I had to see all of you… before I go. Because of this." She points to the hole in her stomach. "I just wanted to say… You guys are the best. I don't know where I'd be without you all. I'm sorry I have to leave you behind… I'm sorry…"

Tears begin to flow from Taffyta's eyes, and the other racers and I can feel them welling up in our own.

An uneasy silence passes before Citrusella speaks up. "Remember that time when you found that hidden shortcut on Frosty Rally, Taffyta? We all thought you disappeared, and then suddenly there you were, out in the lead. That was incredible, Taffyta. None of us could ever have thought of that."

"Yeah… or the race that we all thought ended in a tie between Taffyta and Gloyd?" adds Adorabeezle's little sister, Nougetsia. "And it turned out that Gloyd cheated by hiding extra power-ups in his kart." She gives Gloyd a shove, which gets a laugh out of the rest of us and makes the pumpkin-headed racer blush.

"Or that time when that lousy King Candy was in the lead inches from the finish line?" Minty chimes in. "And Taffyta here came out from right behind him to take back the lead at the last minute. That was the best aim with a Sweet Seeker I've ever seen, Taff."

"Way to show that traitor Candy, Taffyta!" exclaims Adorabeezle.

"You're the best racer of us all, Taff!" I say, and the other racers raise their arms and cheer in agreement.

"Thanks, guys. I know I was always a little… eh… bigheaded whenever we were racing… but you guys were really the best friends I could ever have, and I'll never be able to repay you for that. Thank you…"

Suddenly, Taffyta begins coughing violently, and her head collapses, her eyes closing shut again. "TAFFYTA!" Candlehead cries out, clutching her arm again desperately.

The commotion gets Kohut's attention, and he charges into the room. "Everything all right in here?" he asks.

"I dunno," Candlehead whimpers, breathing heavily. "She was fine, and then… she started coughing… I can't tell if she's alive…"

However, Taffyta opens her eyes again, and rolls over to face Candlehead.

"Taffy!" shrieks Candlehead. "You're okay, right? ARE YOU OKAY? _PLEASE TELL ME YOU'LL BE OKAY!_"

"I'm… fine…" Taffyta grunts, before turning to face all of us again. "You guys should go. I don't… want you to see me like this… Don't worry. I'll be okay…"

Kohut nods and turns to the other racers. "You heard her, people. Move along."

I take one last look at my dying best friend, before taking my leave. But just as I'm about to follow Kohut out of the room, Taffyta cries out, "Wait! Jubi…"

I whip back around to face her. "Yes, Taff?"

"There's… something I need to tell you," she says. "…In private."

Unsure of what to do, I look at the other racers, then at Kohut, who nods and says, "Go on." I step back into the room and the door closes behind me again.

I edge up to Taffyta's bed, keeping my face close to hers. "What is it, Taff?"

"Jubi… she says, and for the first time I notice a flash of anger cross her eyes.

"Yes?"

She coughs again and clears her throat, and what she says next catches me completely off guard.

"How was your little encounter with that Glitch?"

I try my best to wipe the look of surprise off my face before I speak up. "Taffyta, I, uh… don't know what you're talking about…"

Without warning, Taffyta reaches out and seizes me by the scruff of the neck.

"Don't pretend, Jubi," she says menacingly, narrowing her eyes. "I've always been able to read you like an instruction manual. That's why you ran away to Sugar Rush days ago, to find her… Even after everything she did to you, you just couldn't let her go."

"Taffyta, please!"

Taffyta releases me only to erupt into another coughing fit, and her arms hang limply at her sides. The act of grabbing me must have used up any energy she still had.

"Taff, save your strength! Alright, I admit it, you were right: I went back to find Vanellope. And why was that, because I had to!" I shout at her, my voice rising. "My whole life has been nothing but a big, fat lie for fifteen years, and I thought maybe, just maybe, I could finally find some truth in it! I was so close, Taff, so close to finally finding out what really happened the day this whole invasion started! But I was wrong… I was all wrong… about everything…"

I can't help but break down and cry at Taffyta's side. Here she was on her deathbed, and the only thing the two of us can do about it is get angry over something that happened in our terrible lie of a past.

"I'm sorry, Jubi… about everything…" she finally whispers. "You deserved to know what actually happened… but if you wanted to know the truth, you shouldn't have listened to Vanellope. You honestly think _she_ knows what really happened?"

"Taff, I… I don't know what to think anymore," I say, my eyes full of tears.

"Listen, Jubi," she says, her voice sounding urgent. "You can't trust her. She's been in league with that… that traitor King Candy from the beginning."

"How do you know?"

"I heard Sour Bill mention it once… he said that it was Candy himself who caused her to turn into a Glitch… and give her the power to destroy the game. So if they _weren't _working together, Jubi…" Taffyta asks me, "then why else would he do that?"

I gasp as her explanation sinks in, because what she's saying makes complete sense. She _had _been working with Candy right from the beginning. That liar of a King probably never meant to keep her from racing- rather, she herself was just biding her time, waiting to bring doom upon the arcade. And when that doom finally came, she'd used Wreck-It Ralph as a pawn to bring it about. I don't know how I could ever have trusted her from the moment we met. Wait, yes I do…

"But how? She… she saved me from the Bugs. Why?"

"She _saved _you?" Taffyta whispers, equally puzzled. "She couldn't have… if she wanted you alive, then she has to be using you somehow, Jubi. I don't know what for, but you can't trust her… You've got to go back to Sugar Rush… stop the invasion… and get to the bottom of this…"

"Oh, I _will_," I say with determination. "Gonna do it for both of us now. I promise."

However, just as I'm about to leave again, Taffyta's voice sounds out again.

"Jubi, hang on… before you go… er, before _I _go…" she says weakly, "There's something else you should know."

"Yes, Taffyta?" I ask, hurrying back to her bedside.

"Jubi… I know I always seemed like the fastest one on the track… but I've always admired you. You never won a race, and we always used our power-ups on you… but you never gave up, no matter what. And now with this invasion… You're risking everything to save the arcade," Taffyta says weakly. "You're the bravest friend I'll ever know."

"Thanks, Taff," I tell her, as she lay dying at my side. "Don't worry, I'll be here."

"No," she moans. "You can't just stay here. You can't give up… you've got to keep fighting, for the rest of the arcade. Don't give up now, Jubi… Never give up…"

"Oh, Taff," I sob, tears sliding down my face. "Please, Taff… please don't go…"

Taffyta coughs, takes one last deep breath, and looks me in my brown eyes.

"Good luck, Jubileena…"

Taffyta's eyes close, and her head sinks back into her pillow just as a long, continuous beep sounds from the heart rate monitor. _A death tone._

I bury my face in Taffyta's dead body and break down crying. The heart of the arcade's fastest racer, the best friend I could ever have, may have come to a stop, but her spirit races on, on to worlds unknown and unknowable to those she left behind.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The other racers surround me the instant I step out of Taffyta's room.

"How is she? She's okay, right? _Right?!_" Candlehead shrieks.

When I don't answer, Minty asks, "What happened, Jubi?" and hurries to my side. Then she sees the tears in my eyes, and the truth sets in.

"Is she…"

I nod.

Candlehead sinks to the floor and weeps hysterically. The other racers look on, mourning our lost friend, the only trustworthy leader we've ever known.

I take the opportunity to slip away, only for Citrusella to run up behind me. "Jubi, wait! What did Taffyta tell you before she died?"

I want only to forget everything Taffyta told me before she died, but at the sight of Citrus, I remember everything she said about the Glitch, and my sorrow gives way to rage.

"You were right, Citrus," I tell her. "About Vanellope. She and King Candy caused this whole invasion in the first place. I couldn't have trusted her. Now she might be using me, the same way she used Ralph…" Calming, I turn my back to her. "Citrus… I can't take this pain anymore. I'm going to find Calhoun… I'm done with this Hero's Duty business."

"Jubi, no, you can't!" cries Citrus. "They need you out there! Without you, they'll get lost in Sugar Rush! We have to complete the mission before it's too late! You have to keep fighting, Jubi! Just this once!"

That's when I remember the rest of what Taffyta told me. Like it or not, she's right- there's no way I can give up now. The arcade, and that last glimmer of hope for its salvation, all depend on me. I have to keep fighting… if only for just one more day.

"Okay, Citrus. Just this once," I reassure her. "But promise me you'll keep yourself safe. I've just lost Taffyta, Citrus; I can't lose you now. You're all that I've got."

"Yes, ma'am!" says Citrus, giving me a mock salute before returning to comfort the bawling Candlehead.

…

When I return to the upper levels of the bunkers, the first thing that catches my eye is Felix's body, surrounded by a crowd of mourners. Since most of them are his old friends from the classic, low-resolution games of the 80's, the high-definition figure of Calhoun stands out among them.

"Sergeant Calhoun, ma'am," I say with a salute.

"Oh, it's you again," she says, sounding surprised. "Impressive work, civilian. We lost a lot of rookies in that Bug attack, but it's good to see our navigator made it." She gives me a pat on the head. "My condolences about your little friend."

"Thank you," I tell her. "…And sorry about Felix."

"Don't be," she says firmly. "Fix-It was just doing his job. He died like a good soldier, defending the principles for which he took up arms… The same for which you, Bing-Bing, live on to defend now and forever."

"Sergeant…" I say hesitantly, "It's been an honor to serve with you and all, but… I can't go on doing this forever. I've lost so much these last few days, and all this change…" I tug on my uniform as if to illustrate. "It just doesn't feel right. The more I serve in your troops, the more disconnected I feel from my home... I'll help you stop the invasion, but after that I need to go back to my own game. Okay?"

Calhoun thinks for a moment before addressing me. "Alright, soldier. As soon as this mission's over, you'll be relieved of duty. But don't for a second think about deserting _my _squad, or you'll pay dearly. Remember, we need you out there for the mission tomorrow- you'll be leading us to that bonus area. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," I say, turning to head back to my room.

"And don't forget, we'll be reporting in the main hub in Game Central tomorrow morning at eight hundred hours!" Calhoun snaps as I leave. "Be ready, rookie!"

I say nothing, but in my head, I think, _tomorrow morning can't come soon enough._

…

I sleep for what feels like an eternity before Glass Joe returns to our room to collect us for the mission. Citrus and I strap into our uniforms and hurry after him to the main area within Game Central. The other soldiers are already there, positioned in front of the sealed portal to Sugar Rush.

"Move it or lose it, people! C'mon, get into formation!" orders Calhoun as the soldiers file into position, and the other rookies, Citrus and I act accordingly.

"Alright, listen up!" barks Calhoun. "We're about to enter the most highly infested zone in this arcade. When I give the signal, I want blasters at the ready, in case one of those Cy-Bugs decides to try and surprise us!"

"Present… ARMS!" commands Kohut. The rest of the soldiers whip out their blasters, aiming them squarely at the closed portal.

Calhoun nods to a nearby Surge Protector, who salutes and inserts the key to Sugar Rush into the slot on the wall, and the portal opens.

A long silence passes as the soldiers simply stand with their guns pointed at the open door, but no Bugs emerge.

"Well, are we just gonna stand around?" I say impatiently. "No Bugs here!"

"Right… Area secure. At ease, troops," Kohut instructs the soldiers, who put their blasters away and start for the open door to Sugar Rush.

Suddenly, the portal begins to flicker and a Bug comes barreling into the station. "Cy-Bug at twelve o'clock!" yells Calhoun. "Take him, troops!"

At the sound of our blasters, the Bug crouches into a ball and rolls away from our attacks. I follow it closely, but it's moving too fast- so fast, in fact, that it's behind me before I know it. Calhoun cries out, "Watch it, rookie!" as I find myself hoisted into the air.

"JUBI!" Citrus cries out from below.

Just then, a loud, raspy voice chortles in Turkish, "Ha, ha, ha! Bak, Turbo benim tatlı! (Ha, ha, ha! Oh look, Turbo brought me dessert!)"

_Turkish?! Who in this arcade speaks Turkish? _I think to myself. That's when I notice the face of the "Cy-Bug" that's holding me- it was the face of a man! An ugly, bald man at that, but nonetheless very plainly human. For a second, I think it's King Candy, but not even that traitor's face looks this swollen and grotesque. "Who _are _you?!" I cry out, bewildered.

The soldiers all look equally confused- all but one. A look of realization sweeps across Glass Joe's face as he cries out, "Il était un ancien rival de mine… le téméraire Bald Bull! (He was an old rival of mine… the reckless Bald Bull!)"

The bald Bug dangles me by the leg, inches away from his big, open mouth. "Bakın size oldukça ekmekli, kırmızı olanı, (You look quite appetizing, red one,)" he cackles in his heavy Turkish accent. "Siz çocukların bir başka biri bu Sugar Rush? (Are you another one of those brats from Sugar Rush?)"

But before the creature can make a meal out of me, Glass Joe fires his blaster at its arm. The Cybrid monstrosity howls in pain and drops me to the ground.

"Vous pourrez manger sur mon corps mort! (You'll eat her over my dead body!)"

Bald Bull merely chuckles at the sight of his former rival. "Için bana sahip olduğunuzu şaka yapıyorsun… (You have got to be kidding me…)" he says with a laugh. "Gerçekten Fransa dan kum torbası Küçük Devre? (Is it really that French punching bag from the Minor Circuit?)"

"Je suis peut-être un sac de frappe… (I may be a punching bag…)" Glass Joe says angrily, weapon in hand, "…Mais je suis un avec un fusil! (…But I'm one with a gun!)"

Bald Bull laughs again. "Ne kadar eğlenceli. Bu sadece birkaç saniye içinde. (Oh, how amusing. This should take just a few seconds.)" With that, he drops to the ground and stands up to reveal three pairs of menacing, claw-like appendages.

"Pense que vous pouvez me prendre? Venir sur, alors! Allons-y! (Think you can take me? Come on, then! Let's go!)" Glass Joe taunts him.

"Şimdi gücünü biliyor Bald Bull! (Now you will know the power of Bald Bull!)" the Turkish Cybrid roars as he takes a swipe at Joe's head.

Kohut and the other soldiers run in to help, but Joe pushes them away. "Non! Ne vous déplacez pas! Il est à moi de finir! (No! Don't move! He's mine to finish!)" he orders them. The soldiers exchange looks and fall back, looking on as the two old enemies from the W.V.B.A. begin to encircle each other.

"Si vous travaillez pour Turbo maintenant, honh? (So you're working for Turbo now, eh?)" Glass Joe says sardonically, staring down his former rival. "Les récompenses sont fantastique, j'en suis sûr. (The pay's fantastic, I'm sure.)"

"Ağızdan olduğunu size sadece sizi kırmakta veya daha da kötüsü, sizi yanıltmasın! (That mouth of yours will only get you hurt or worse, fool!)" Bald Bull roars, enraged. "Ödülüm dönüştürün giriyor rahatsız edici gövde parçaları! (My reward is getting to rip your meddlesome body to pieces!)" With that, he throws Glass Joe a powerful body blow.

Joe is sent crashing into the wall, and Bald Bull readies for another attack. But the French boxer not only dodges the punch, but counterattacks with a shot to his chest.

Bald Bull clutches his midsection in pain. "Bu eziyet, kahretsin! (That hurt, damn you!)" he roars as he takes another swipe at Glass Joe, hitting him hard. He flies into the wall on the other side of Game Central again, and gets himself back up with some effort.

The bald Bug, panting from the effort, stares down his enemy, and steam begins floating out his nostrils. "Hâlâ canlı, oğlan mı? Bakalım bu! (Still alive, boy? Let's see you take this!)" he growls as he backs up against the wall, his face as red as my hair.

"Joe, LOOK OUT!" I call out to him.

In one swift motion, Bald Bull rolls towards him with the force of a charging rhino, his arm outstretched to deliver a devastating uppercut. The second before his talon pierces Glass Joe's body, Joe fires his blaster three times, clean through the Turkish Cybrid's chest.

"Ah… be… (Darn… it…)" he moans in agony before dropping down dead.

"Enfin… J'ai gagné… (Finally… I won…)" Glass Joe says weakly, seemingly unaware of the bloody hole Bald Bull had left in his stomach. He raises his arm in ecstasy, exclaims triumphantly, "Vive la France! (Long live France!)", and collapses to the ground, his face frozen in the glory of his first and final victory.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As Glass Joe crumples to the ground, Calhoun and Kohut hurry over to his body. The Sergeant stands over Kohut as he runs his hands across Joe's face, neck and chest, before shaking his head no at her.

The other soldiers groan and begin muttering to one another- clearly, this mission was not off to a good start as they had planned. First they had lost Felix, and now Joe…

However, Calhoun's return from Joe's body silences them. "All right ladies, listen up! There's been a change of plans."

_Change of plans? _I think. _She's going to call off the mission?! But we can't give up now, not when we're so close! We have to stop the invasion for good! We have to…_

My apprehensions are seemingly confirmed when she orders, "Bing-Bing! Front and center!" Tentatively, I step out of line and stand beside her and Kohut.

"Now then," Calhoun introduces me, "for those that don't already know, this is Jubileena Bing-Bing- the only civilian I know to be stupid enough to get caught in three back-to-back Cy-Bug attacks, _and_ strong enough to survive all of them. Originally, we planned to have her serve as a navigator to help us find the code inside Sugar Rush."

_Don't give up now, Calhoun… _I think desperately. _Don't give up._

Calhoun gesticulates towards Glass Joe's dead body and says, "But in light of our losing Frenchie over here…"

I shut my eyes, bracing for her words.

"…She will be promoted to Lieutenant rank," finishes Calhoun, "and will instead lead us inside the game."

My eyes fling open in shock, to be greeted with the sight of the entirety of Hero's Duty, the other arcade characters, and of course Citrusella giving me a salute. In all my years of lost races, this is easily the proudest moment of my life.

I'm dizzy from the shock. I feel like I might fall over, but then I feel a hand on my shoulder, and spin around to find Calhoun giving me a smile.

"T-Thanks…" I say, dumbstruck- at the moment it was the best I could do.

"Don't make me regret this decision, rookie," Calhoun says, saluting.

"I won't, ma'am," I tell her, saluting back.

Calhoun returns her attention to the rest of the soldiers. "Now that that's settled, we're about to enter the most dangerous area in the arcade. Many of you will not be walking out of that game alive," she warns them. "If any of you ladies would like to opt out now, this is your last chance. Any volunteers?"

No one says a word.

"Good. That saves time," she says. "Well, boys, it's Make your Momma proud time… Are you ready to take back this arcade?"

"SIR YES SIR!" the soldiers answer in unison.

"Well, Lieutenant?" Calhoun tells me, smiling. "We're waiting for your order."

Not knowing what else to do or say, I nod to her, raise my fist skyward and yell, "CHARGE!", and with a valiant war cry, the soldiers, Calhoun, Kohut, Citrus and I do just that- right into the Bug-infested wasteland of almost certain death that was once my home.

…

A thick fog fills the tunnel that connects Sugar Rush to Game Central as we make a mad dash into the game. But when the fog lifts, the never-ending swarm of Cy-Bugs before us makes the attack on Game Central seem like a picnic.

"Turbo's pulling all the stops this time… He must know he's got company," mutters Calhoun. "Alright, Lieutenant, now where exactly is this secret area of yours?"

I squint through the cloud of Bugs that blots out the sky, until I eventually spot Diet Cola Mountain on the horizon. "This way!" I call out to her, pointing.

"Alright people, you heard her! Let's move!" orders Calhoun, and the soldiers leap into battle, opening fire at the incoming Bugs. But their forces are too strong and their numbers too great, and as our forces begin to dwindle, it's soon obvious that taking the brute strength route isn't gonna work this time.

"We're losing our troops, kid!" Calhoun snaps, running up to me from behind, as the Cy-Bugs fell several soldiers behind her. "You better know what it is you're doing!"

"I do, I do!" I yell back. "This isn't working… We have to split up!"

Calhoun nods. "Every man for himself!" she calls out to the soldiers. "We'll rendezvous at the mountain! Let's go!"

I obey without hesitation, breaking formation and charging for the mountain, leaving the others behind. Not knowing what else to do, I run, blindly charging my way through Bug after Bug.

_This is it, _I think. _The mission's failed… this is how it's gonna end…_

But just as I prepare to accept defeat, the onslaught of Cy-Bugs stops, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I reach the valley just before the path to Diet Cola Mountain. A rare safe haven, free from Bugs. A moment of calm before the storm.

…

After what feels like ages, I see a group of at least a dozen soldiers on the horizon, flanked by Calhoun and Kohut. At first, I'm overjoyed to see the two leading commanders survived, but my happiness turns to confusion when I see the bloody mess they're carrying between them. Then it gives way to raw, naked horror, as I realize who it is.

"Glad to see you made it, Lieutenant," Calhoun says gravely as she and Kohut hurry over to me. "Tragically, your sister wasn't so lucky."

A wave of shock sweeps over me. I want to say something, say anything, but my lungs can't find the air, and I double over, breathing heavily.

"What… happened… is she…?"

Kohut gently sets Citrusella's bloody body on the ground next to me. "We were trying to follow your path. Then we got ambushed… She took a wound to the chest from a Boss Bug," he says. "I'm sorry, Jubileena. She's still alive, but… there's nothing we can do to save her now."

The moment he deposits her on the ground I crawl over to her bloodstained body, tears flowing from my face and landing on the wound in her chest. "Citrus… Oh, Citrus…"

"If it's any condolence to you, civilian, she fought bravely," Calhoun tries to reassure me. "She shot down several swarms of Bugs that would have killed us back there if she hadn't. A great number of us owe our lives to her."

I'm not listening to her, because all I can think about is the sister I'm about to lose.

"Citrus, please… Wake up…"

I'm on the verge of hyperventilating when Citrus suddenly begins to stir, and I gasp in shock and relief when she opens her eyes.

"Jubi… you're alive…"

"Citrus," I gasp, clutching her body in my arms. As I gently embrace my dying sister, tears begin streaming from her face.

"Citrus… you promised me," I tell her, holding back my own tears. "I told you to stay safe... I can't lose you… not now…"

"Jubi…" she rasps, breathing heavily. "You said… you'd always be there… when I needed you… then you left me behind… Why, Jubi?"

Her words completely take me aback. It's true- I remember the promise we made in Hero's Duty. _"Don't leave me again, Jubi… You said you wouldn't leave me behind again… You said you'd be there for me. Please… please be there for me when I need you…"_

And I _had _promised her that I would protect her, right? And look what all my protection has done for her now…

A long silence fills the valley as her words sink in. I have no one to blame for the deaths of my sister, Taffyta, or even Ralph… no one but myself.

"I'm so sorry, Citrus… I failed you…" I say softly, no longer trying to fight the tears in my eyes.

"It's okay, Jubi… she says. "Go without me…"

"NO!" I scream in agony. "I'm not leaving you here alone… not again…"

"You don't… have a choice…" she rasps. "You can't stop fighting now… You have to save the arcade. Go, Jubi… do it for Ralph, for Taffyta… for me…"

First Calhoun, then Bowser, then Taffyta, and now my sister… I've promised everyone I know that I would keep fighting to the end. But every time, I broke that promise… and it has cost me everything…

I can't promise my sister anything now. I've broken the one promise I made to her, to keep her safe… and now, here she is dying in my arms.

"I can't do it…" I sob. "I can't do it, Citrus… I'm not ready for this… I'm not ready to lose you…"

"Jubi…" she starts to say, before being seized by a sudden coughing fit. I gently lay her down on the ground, and her breathing eases.

Her eyes open once more, looking up at me. "I love you, Jubi…" she whispers.

"I love you too, Citrus…" I tell her. "Please don't go…"

Her eyes gently close.

"Please don't leave me…"

Her breathing begins to slow.

"Citrus… please, Citrus…"

At last, her hand falls limply to my side.

"Citrus, no… please… Citrus, no! NO, NO, _NO!_" I wail, clutching her lifeless body in desperation. "_NOOOOOOOOO!_"

The other Hero's Duty soldiers exchange looks of sorrow as I bury my face in her chest, sobbing. _Game Over, Jubileena, _I think, my head reeling with emotions. _She's gone now. You have nothing left to lose but yourself…_

But as I pull my head back up from Citrusella's body, I spot a pair of unmistakable hazel eyes at the edge of the valley, peering down at us with a look of shock and surprise, and my sorrow gives way to an uncontrollable rage.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"You…"

My eyes narrow in fury at the sight of the Glitch, that mutinous mistake who went and wrecked everything- even Ralph. But that wasn't enough- no, she just couldn't stop until she'd laid waste to everything and everyone I hold dear. And now, here in the ruins of my old home, besieged by her hand, it seems she has finally succeeded.

How long has she been here? Has she been following me, just as before, bent on manipulating me? Am I nothing but a pawn in her mini-game, being kept alive at the expense of all else that I care about? And now with my sister dead in my arms, has she come to admire her handiwork- the deaths of those many who don't matter?

Well, it matters to me- and I will stop at nothing to let her know it.

"YOU!"

I fling the word in her direction with all the power my lungs can muster, and just like that, I have her attention. As she realizes the word is directed to her, she begins to back away from the edge of the valley, and the surprised look on her face is replaced with a look of fear- total fear.

And she has every reason to be afraid. Because she has just robbed me of the one remaining thing I care about. Because she knows I will no longer be a player in her cruel game. And because I'm not about to let the death of my sister go unpunished.

Seized by the mightiest, most overwhelming rage I've ever known, I sink to my knees, thrust my fists to the sky and scream louder than I ever have in my life, and my voice resonates across the barren landscape of Sugar Rush.

At the sound of my scream of fury, the Glitch begins to edge cautiously away from the top of the hill, and once I take a tentative step in her direction, she breaks into a run.

"Don't even think about it, kid…" warns Calhoun.

I whip around to face her, giving her one last glare of resentment, before I deliberately throw my weapon to the ground, and take off running in pursuit of the Glitch.

I can hear Calhoun's threats of "Return to formation now, rookie! That's an order!" over my shoulder, but I don't care. That Glitch has just destroyed the one thing that mattered most to me- and the only thing that matters now is to show her what happens when you tangle with Jubileena Bing-Bing, the most dangerous girl in the arcade.

…

A blast of cool air sweeps across my face as I charge blindly through my ruined game, and the cloud of dust that smacks me next sets my eyes and throat on fire. The pain is excruciating, but I keep running through the whirling sea of debris until my dust-filled lungs force me to a stop.

_That Glitch had to have come this way, _I think. I look around for her, but the dust storm before me makes it impossible to see anything on the ground. But when I glance up at the sky and the top of Sugar Rush's most prominent landmark comes into view, I instantly realize what her destination must be, and I sprint as fast as I can in the direction of Diet Cola Mountain.

I feel as if I'm drawing ever closer, but I have absolutely no idea… this dust storm is completely obscuring my view of anything but the top of the mountain. Then, just as soon as it came, the cloud of debris dissipates, revealing the rest of the mountain- and a flash of blue near its base.

_Target sighted._

With all the speed I can muster, I sprint after wretched little Vanellope, now glitching uncontrollably out of fear. She knows I'm on to her… she probably expects she'll be safe once she reaches the safety of her home inside the mountain. But the last thing she expected for sure was for me to lunge at her moments before she could pass through the secret opening.

"YAAAAAAAH!"

I seize her by the leg, but she glitches right out of my grasp and resumes her course for home.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU-" I scream at her, lunging for her again, throwing her whole body to the ground this time. I try to hold her arms back, but she punches me in the face as she rolls out of my reach, attempting to pick herself back up.

"JUBI?! ARE YOU OUTTA YER MI-" she starts to scream before I throw myself at her again, landing a blow to her face as I grab her by the arm again.

"_SHUT UP!_" I yell at her, throwing her another punch. "YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID! _YOU KILLED MY SISTER!_"

I ready for another blow to her face, but she suddenly wrenches her arm free of my grasp and shoves me to the ground.

"Yer crazy!" she snarls. "I dunno what yer talking about! I never killed-"

"YES… YOU… DID!" I cut her off with a flurry of punches and throw her to the ground again, crushing her legs under my weight and seizing her left arm.

The Glitch begins breathing heavily as she realizes the position I've left her in. I have her this time, and she knows it.

"Jubi, what're you doing?! Lemme go! I didn't do anything! I never killed anybody, I swear!" she shouts desperately at my face.

"_YOU LIAR!_" I scream as I grab hold of a clump of her jet-black hair and tear it out with one swift yank. As she lets out of a cry of intense pain, I stare down her face, her eyes welling up with tears, and ready for another attack.

"Jubi, s-stop it, I didn't d-do anything! Stop it! P-please!" she sobs, holding her free arm to her face as if to block my blows.

Holding her hand out in front of her was a big mistake. With a shriek of rage, I seize her hand and sink my teeth into her arm, not stopping until I detect the taste of her blood. Her entire body begins to shake as she starts screaming in pain again. I can feel her legs wriggling under mine as I release her arm, which falls limply to her side.

"Jubi… please…" she whimpers.

I never want to hear another word from this stupid, selfish Glitch ever again- I throw her a punch to the mouth, and she falls silent. A trail of blood oozes from her open mouth, only to join the flow of tears streaming from her eyes.

The sight is sickening, but it doesn't stop me. "YOU KILLED HER!" I scream as I throw another punch to her face, leaving behind a black eye.

"YOU… KILLED… MY… SISTER!" I yell again, punctuating every word with a blow. "You… You…" I struggle to say the word, remembering how I felt after I had said it last time, how the sound of it had wounded Vanellope. But that was a different time, when I'd had different views of her- before she took every last thing that mattered away from me.

At last, I bring myself to say it. "YOU_ GLITCH!_" I shriek at her before slamming my fist into her stomach, knocking any breath she might have had out of her.

I raise my hand to throw another punch, but suddenly the tables turn as a large man rolls me onto my stomach and comes down hard, knocking the wind out of _me_.

"Lieutenant detained," I hear Kohut's voice say as he hoists me up by the arms. "You may proceed with the charges, Sergeant."

I gulp as Kohut wheels me around to face an enraged Calhoun, who glances between me and the bloody face of the Glitch, who begins to pick herself up off the ground weakly.

"Are you _trying _to get court-martialed, rookie?!" she shrieks, her eyes narrowed. "I don't have a clue what I was thinking, letting a 12-year-old lead us into this rat hole… but _this_… do you have _any _idea what you've just done?!"

"NO!" I snarl at her. "And I don't care! She killed my sister, and if you think I'm gonna let her get away with it, then you're-"

"You _really_ think _Vanellope Von Schweetz _killed your sister?!" Calhoun cuts me off.

I freeze, dumbstruck at the sound of Vanellope's name coming from Calhoun's mouth. _This couldn't be happening… How could Calhoun, the very leader of the resistance movement, _possibly _be in league with that traitor Vanellope?_

"No… it can't be true… She started the invasion!… How? How could you…"

"_Started the invasion?!_" This gets a laugh out of Calhoun. "Vanellope was the only one in Sugar Rush that helped _fight _it! And you actually think she _caused _all this?"

"Listen to her, Jubes," Vanellope moans, standing up with great effort. "She's telling the truth!"

"No… No she's not!" I scream. "She's a liar! You're ALL liars! ALL OF YOU!" I tug furiously at Kohut, but can't break the corporal's firm grip on my arms.

Calhoun sighs. "Well, it looks like this show's over. Kohut, take Carrot Top here back to Hero's Duty. She's in for a long stay in the detention cell at the rate she's going…"

But just as Kohut begins to drag me away, I glance at Vanellope's face, and an immense rage consumes me… rage more powerful than anything I've ever known, rage far beyond my control. It was a completely new feeling, one that had been foreign to me for fifteen long years.

_Hatred._

In one single motion, I slip out of Kohut's grasp and charge at the Glitch with blinding speed, as a faint red glow surrounds me. "_I HATE YOU!_" I scream the moment my fist collides with her face and sends her crashing to the ground.

The Hero's Duty soldiers gasp as I come to a stop, looking over Vanellope. Even Calhoun looks completely mortified. _What have I just done?!_

"Jubi…" Vanellope whispers. "Your code… it's broken…"

I look down at my hands, and it's all I can do not to faint at the sight of them flickering with a flash of red. Then it hits me… she's entirely right. I have done the unthinkable… I have corrupted my own code.

Love was the only thing keeping sweet little Jubileena teetering on the brink of stability. It was the one thing that mattered to me; the last piece of my code I've been able to hold on to. And now, there is no longer any love inside of Jubileena Bing-Bing, only hate- pure, unbridled hate. With that last chunk of code gone, the last domino falls, and my sweet candy shell comes apart at last, revealing the battered, broken remains within…

_I have become a Glitch._


End file.
